Pepper Spray Altercation Was Isolated and Unrelated to the School
The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District sent out a statement regarding the incident on Friday night at the school’s football game against Torrance. The Santa Monica Police Department’s press representative confirmed that the incident took place with a call coming in to officers at 8:44 pm and that the reporting party was school security.
All the parties to the fight were juveniles and were separated prior to the arrival of officers. The juvenile who was pepper sprayed was treated at the scene and released. The suspect with the pepper spray was issued a citation to juvenile court for misdemeanor battery and released to their parent.
According to the letter, which seeks to reassure the community that the incident was not related to the school, can be read below in full.
Dear Samohi Families,
It is unfortunate that I have to inform you that towards the end of the football game last night there was a verbal altercation that occurred near one of the campus entrances. The Santa Monica Police Department was called because one of the young adults who does not attend Samohi dispensed pepper spray.
This was an isolated incident between people who know each other and did not have any impact on the larger community attending the football game.
As we move forward as a community, the Samohi administrative team is committed to safety on campus. It is important that your students do not encourage, promote, or record for fun, conflicts that occur during or after school, on campus or off campus. Please remind them if they see something to inform a trusted adult, call 911, or anonymously report to www.WeTip.com.
Sincerely,
Marae Cruce
Principal
