Minority School Discipline In Tampa Bay: Two Anecdotes (One With A Knife, One With A Gun)
05/02/2013
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A letter from a reader noted a Tampa Bay Times story about the disparity in minority school suspensions:A Florida Observer Sees "Derbyshire's Revenge" In Tampa School Suspension StoryMay 2, 2013

Looking for stories about local schools and discipline on the Tampa Bay Times, the first story I saw was about a Hispanic student pulling a knife. This is a stereotype—if this were a TV show, the network would say "Can you make the guy who pulls a knife not a minority, please?"

Brandon High student accused of taking knife to school

Laura C. Morel, Times Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 9:36am

BRANDON

Student accused of taking knife to school

A Brandon High student was arrested Tuesday afternoon and accused of taking a knife to school, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

Pedro Luis Vazquez, a senior, was arguing with another student when a security tape captured Vazquez holding a knife behind his back, an arrest affidavit shows.

The school was placed on lockdown as officials searched for the knife. Vazquez later admitted to throwing the knife onto the street. It was never recovered, the affidavit shows.[More]

However, the Hispanic guy with a knife is far from being the most dangerous minority school discipline problem in the Tampa Bay area—troubled black teen Nicholas Lindsey killed a police officer.

troubled black teen Nicholas Lindsey killed a police officer.The Nicholas Lindsey case is eerily like the Trayvon Martin case, except that when Lindsey (pictured in court) was stopped by a police officer for prowling, he had a gun, and killed the officer.

Oh, and this is the first time you've heard of him. But he missed 40 days of school before the incident in which he shot the officer. [Classmates and teachers of accused teen gunman describe him as 'quiet', By Anna Tataris, CFNews13.com/, February 23, 2011]

But those two incidents provide a little perspective on "disparate impact" on minority school discipline in the Tampa Bay area.

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