Law and Order in Glendale
- Police are saying today a series of fights that broke out between two groups of students at Glendale High Wednesday was not due to Armenian vs. Latino tensions.
A News Press story this morning quoted a couple students who suspect it could be a cause for the melees between two groups of friends, the first of which began at about 12:30 p.m. -- lunch time. Several more fights broke out throughout the day that students had to be dismissed in groups. And this all happened during the Every 15 Minutes DUI prevention program, with several GPD officers on campus.
"There is no evidence in yesterday's incidents that says it's racially motivated," Glendale Police spokesman John Balian told me. "It was a 'What're you looking at?' -- that type of thing." In fact, another fight happened today after school on the soccer field, he said. No one was hurt.
As for ethnic tensions, Balian said: "It's been quiet for a long time."
Tensions between the two groups erupted in 2000, when Latino Hoover High student Raul Aguirre was stabbed to death when he was caught in a fight between rival gang members. Three charged in his murder were Armenian Americans.
I'm just waiting for the YouTube video to see for myself.
- Meanwhile, Jason Kandel blogs about Glendale's pay-to-stay jail. It's a Crime.