CAMARILLO : Girl, 14, Arrested at Prop. 187 Protest

A 14-year-old Adolfo Camarillo High School student was arrested Monday afternoon on suspicion of striking a police officer during a short-lived Proposition 187 protest, authorities said.

Around 2 p.m. an estimated 20 students began protesting the statewide ballot initiative that would, if approved by voters Nov. 8, severely limit public assistance to illegal immigrants.

The girl, whose identity was not released because of her age, is accused of striking Ventura Sheriff’s Detective Mark Criger as he was videotaping the student protesters.

“She apparently took offense at me videotaping her,” Criger said after the incident. He was not injured and the other student demonstrators dispersed quickly afterward.

Criger said the girl was arrested, cited and released to the custody of her parents a short time later.

Terry Tackett, the school’s principal, said the incident began after students attending a party off campus walked back to the school.

“They were loud but it didn’t last very long,” Tackett said. “To their credit, other students did not join them when the change-of-class bell rang.”

The incident was the latest in a series of student protests across the county. Last Friday hundreds of students from area high schools left their classes to protest the much-debated ballot measure. Officers arrested three students and one adult during those demonstrations.