Pepper Spraying at School Sends 6 to Hospitals

A Junior ROTC instructor’s attempt to disperse students lingering after an awards ceremony Thursday at Locke High School resulted in 48 students being exposed to pepper spray, six of whom were treated at area hospitals, school officials said.

Although authorities said no one was seriously injured, paramedics sent six youngsters to three area hospitals for treatment after the lunchtime incident.

School officials said the pepper spray was squirted into the air by a new instructor in the South Los Angeles school’s Naval Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps when the students lingered after a bell summoned them to go to their next class.

The instructor, whom officials declined to identify, was described as a recent Navy retiree in his first year with the school’s Junior ROTC.

“He’s a fine person,” Locke Principal Annie Webb said, but “we certainly don’t condone” his actions.

Webb said Junior ROTC members apparently figured it would be all right to linger after the awards ceremony because of the special nature of Thursday’s meeting.

When students didn’t respond to the class bell, the instructor ordered them to leave. And when they didn’t heed his instructions he warned that he would spray something into the air, authorities said.

Students are not allowed to possess pepper spray on campus and teachers must have special permission to carry it, officials said. School police said Thursday’s incident was under investigation.

Lt. Cappy Surette, a Navy spokesman, said the Junior ROTC program is operated by military retirees and is “loosely” affiliated with the Navy. Naval Junior ROTC instructors are certified by the Navy but are not considered Navy employees, he said.

Webb declined to comment on the instructor’s future.