Austin ISD trustee questions police response after hoax 911 call

After a hoax 911 call about a school shooter spurred a large police response at an Austin high school last week, one Austin ISD trustee asked for the district to define which law enforcement agencies lead responses to 911 calls.

Trustee Kevin Foster said at the Sept. 23 board of trustees meeting that roughly 100 first responders—Austin ISD police, Austin police, state troopers, a swat unit and medics—arrived at LBJ Early College High School last week after a 911 call reported a school shooter, though the call turned out to be a “hoax,” Foster said.

Foster said some parents of LBJ High School students told him armed officers lined up students in the classroom where they suspected the threat to be and then pulled students out for questioning.

“When students fear officers, when students see guns drawn, when students see kids pulled out, that has an impact and often it’s a lifelong impact,” Foster said.

Foster said he is grateful and supportive of police, but that he wants Austin ISD police to lead such responses because they are most trained in handling students.

Foster asked Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde to provide information about which law enforcement agencies lead responses at schools. He said prank calls are “predictable” and he would like for officers to assess the validity of claims on 911 before entering schools.