School safety issue at Hillcrest High

Assault. Battery. A “climate of fear.” A “strip search room.” The allegations against school safety agents at Jamaica’s Hillcrest High School point to an environment of overly aggressive policing that has, over the past couple of years, spiraled out of control.
Now, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), an immigrant rights advocacy group, a law firm and elected officials are calling on the NYPD and the Department of Education (DOE) for a proper investigation and better oversight.
Attorney Victoria Renta Irwin, of Irwin and Streiner, is representing 16-year-old Rohan Morgan, who alleges he suffered various injuries, including a knee injury that requires surgery, as a result of being assaulted and beaten by Hillcrest safety personnel on several occasions.
Rohan is one of a handful of students who has reported mistreatment by school safety agents at Hillcrest.
Kumar Heeralall, who graduated in 2008, is another.
“They harassed me, handcuffed me and took me in a room and started beating me up,” the 21-year-old told The Courier.
According to Heeralall, the incident was sparked when he accidentally took his cell phone with him through a school metal detector. An argument started - “I didn’t know what to say, I was really scared,” Heeralall said - and he had no chance to explain himself as he was taken to an office, and ultimately escorted to the local police precinct. The Ozone Park resident was arrested and suspended from school for eight days, all, he said, over a misunderstanding.
School safety agents should be better trained and be held accountable, said Heeralall, who, along with the NYCLU and immigrant rights group DRUM (Desis Rising Up & Moving), organized a December 8 rally at Hillcrest.
“It feels like a Pandora’s box,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said of the situation. “Sadly, or unfortunately, it is not entirely unique.”
On the one hand, Lieberman said, there is a certain level of intimidation at the school and many students are afraid to come forward with complaints. On the other hand, she said, if a student actually summons the courage to file a claim, there is no mechanism in place to hold safety agents accountable.
“The NYPD has resisted oversight by the CCRB” - The New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board - “with regard to police officers and this is no exception,” Lieberman said.
In August, Councilmember Robert Jackson introduced the Student Safety Act - sponsored by 26 Councilmembers - which would bring a combination of accountability and transparency to school safety, Lieberman noted. However, Councilmember Peter Vallone, Jr. has refused to hold a hearing on the bill.
Vallone, underscoring his dedication to school safety, said the bill is “worth taking a serious look at,” but he added that the underfunded CCRB is already overwhelmed with cases. It would take “well over $1 million” to expand the CCRB’s jurisdiction to schools, Vallone said, adding that investigations of public safety officers are better run by the police department itself.
Department of Education spokesperson Margie Feinberg, limited in her ability to comment because of the ongoing investigation, said her agency takes the allegations very seriously and investigates them when called upon.
For starters, the NYCLU is calling on all school safety agents involved with the allegations to be transferred or temporarily removed from their contract.
A Hillcrest senior named Terrance, exiting the school at 2 p.m. on a recent afternoon, agreed that there should be repercussions for the safety agents. Terrance repeated a two-year-old rumor of a student being taken to the school’s backyard and suffering a broken leg at the hands of safety officers and said he heard about another incident this year.
“But it’s the NYPD,” he said with skepticism. “You can’t trust cops to investigate cops.”