The skinny: Muir football coach Ken Howard, a former school security guard who spent 17 years patrolling the Muir halls, said he was asked by vice principal Dr. Charles Park to conduct a search of a student reportedly armed with a knife on Friday, and a scuffle ensued in what Howard described as necessary to defend himself, and apparently, after meeting with police, they felt so too, opting not to file charges. “The police officers that responded said I did everything right,” Howard said. Even so, Howard was placed on administrative leave, and removed as head coach while the school conducts an investigation. Howard said in Tuesday’s story that Park apologized to him for authorizing the search and Howard’s attorney said Park authorized the search. However, in tomorrow’s paper there will be an update in which Park declares he never asked Howard to conduct a search. I hate to write it, but it sounds to me that administrators are prepared to make Howard the scapegoat. We will continue to update as this develops. Just to clarify, the administrative leave was his removal from coaching. Howard is no longer a full-time security guard at Muir, he was laid off as part of budget cuts more than a year ago. But he still volunteers to help with security since he’s the football coach, something he does to help keep his players in line at school. This I also find interesting. The suspension of Howard came the same day a fatal stabbing occurred at Southeast High in South Gate. Four people were stabbed, including the school’s dean. Although a knife was never found during Howard’s search, the result of not searching when you suspect someone has a weapon could end up a South Gate situation if you don’t err on the side of caution, something school officials should keep in mind when sorting this out.
Friday’s breaking story: John Muir High School head football coach Ken Howard was placed on administrative leave Friday after a scuffle with a student.
