Surveillance video that shows Parkrose High School security guard and coach Keanon Lowe disarming a student who brought a gun to school has drawn nationwide praise for Lowe’s response and his compassion.
But the Parkrose School District is objecting to its disclosure, arguing the tape should not have been released to the media and general public.
The video was first posted by KOIN-TV and was released by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office in response to a public records request by the Portland CBS affiliate.
In a statement dated Oct. 19 and posted on the Parkrose School District Twitter page, Parkrose Superintendent Michael Lopes-Serrao wrote:
“We learned last night that the security video footage of the May 17th incident at Parkrose High School was released by the district attorney’s office to KOIN news. It is important to know that Parkrose School District denied this request from KOIN for the public record this past week. We denied this request because we believe the release of the video is a violation of student rights through the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). In addition, the release of the video has a significant impact on the students, staff, and families of Parkrose High School. This was a traumatic event for our students, staff, and community.”
Records are presumed public under Oregon law unless their release is prohibited, or if an agency chooses to exercise an exemption written into the law. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is a federal law that protects students’ educational records, and which applies to schools that receive federal funds.
The Oregonian/OregonLive received a copy of the video from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office in response to the paper’s public records request. On Monday, District Attorney Rod Underhill wrote Lopes-Serrao a letter apologizing for not discussing the public release of the video with the superintendent before Underhill’s office made the video public.
But Underhill explained that his office still was obligated to publicly release the video because the federal law protecting students’ educational records doesn’t apply “to materials in possession of law enforcement.”
“The official record of a criminal case is subject to a different set of restrictions on its release than educational records in the custody of a school,” Underhill wrote.
Underhill further explained: “This particular case was unique due to the intense public interest in the conduct of all involved and the fact of a fully adjudicated criminal prosecution."
Many readers have commended Lowe as a hero, but some have questioned whether the video should have been posted. Serrao also criticized the publication of the video by media outlets, saying it was done without the district’s permission or due consideration.
The Oregonian/OregonLive, along with many other media outlets locally and across the country, chose to post the video given the intense public interest in the case and the video’s release by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office. The post has been shared more than 7,000 times on social media and prompted close to 100 comments on OregonLive and more than 100 on Facebook.
“The video is inherently newsworthy,” said Therese Bottomly, editor and VP/content for The Oregonian/OregonLive. “When someone enters a high school with a loaded gun, in a mental crisis or not, he forfeits any right to privacy in the public arena. We have open courts in this state and that means the public, in every case, has the right to see the evidence that led to the basis for the outcome, which in this case was a guilty plea.”
In the video, Lowe can be seen holding in one hand the loaded shotgun that Angel Granados-Diaz, 19, brought to school. Lowe’s other arm is around the then-18-year-old. After handing the weapon over to someone, Lowe hugs Granados-Diaz and appears to comfort the student.
In court, his lawyer said that Granados-Diaz didn’t bring the weapon to school intending to harm anyone but himself. Granados-Diaz, who pleaded guilty to felony possession of a firearm in a public building and misdemeanor possession of a loaded firearm in public, has been sentenced to three years of probation and any necessary mental health treatment.