6 girls charged in melee at reform school; one officer injured

[TheeBadOne]

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/local/4884140.htm

CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. - Twenty police officers were called to a Roman Catholic reform school to break up an "out of control" fight in which six girls were taken into custody and one officer was bitten on the leg, police said.

The melee started Sunday in a residence hall of the Lourdesmont adolescent treatment center, located across from Baptist Bible College in Lackawanna County, police said.

"It got totally out of control," South Abington Township police Chief Robert Gerrity said. "They were threatening to assault the staff and the officers."

Six girls were charged with rioting and four others also will face charges, Gerrity said. All were between 14 and 16 years old.

The 90-minute fight started with a report of a false fire alarm set by girls living at the school, authorities said. Fire officials determined a group of five girls had been lighting items on fire under a smoke alarm.

When South Abington Township police tried to apprehend the 16-year-old leader of the group, she became hostile and screamed for her friends to help her, the chief said.

Police held the group of girls at bay with the threat of pepper spray and then took the girl into custody. When officers tried to send the other students back to their rooms, two more girls became combative, imploring the others in the residence hall to fight the police, Gerrity said.

Police apprehended the two girls and before they left the school grounds, staff members called them back with reports of students fighting among themselves.

"And when we went back in, it was as bad or worse than it was the first time," the chief said.

Officers attempted to stop the fighting and one was bitten on the leg during the melee, police said. Three more girls were taken into custody by police the second time, Gerrity said.

Juvenile charges filed against the six girls include riot, causing risk and catastrophe, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, criminal conspiracy and arson. The girl who bit the police officer will also face an aggravated assault charge, Gerrity said.

Lourdesmont administrators were not available for comment Sunday night.

Lourdesmont, run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, provides therapeutic residential and day programs for girls and boys, age 12 to 18, referred from agencies throughout eastern and central Pennsylvania.

 

[El Tejon]

Video by chance?

 

[Joe Demko]

I worked at an all-girl residential facility in the early 90's. At least with the types of people who end up in such places, the girls are far harder to control than the boys. I had to deal with far more attacks on staff and other residents with the girls. I also had to spend more time and energy preventing sexual activity between residents and investigating false allegations against staff members. As for El Tejon's video, you'd only find it stimulating if you like overweight girls in too much makeup. The residents in such facilities tend to corpulence from lack of exercise and a too-rich institutional diet. The girls tend to paint themselves up pretty garishly since doing their faces is one of the few "outside world" activities they are normally permitted.

 

[El Tejon]

Golgo, on second thought . . .

 

[Soap]

As for El Tejon's video, you'd only find it stimulating if you like overweight girls in too much makeup. The residents in such facilities tend to corpulence from lack of exercise and a too-rich institutional diet. The girls tend to paint themselves up pretty garishly since doing their faces is one of the few "outside world" activities they are normally permitted.

Accurate...but still sad nonetheless...

 

[cuchulainn]

At least with the types of people who end up in such places, the girls are far harder to control than the boys.

I'll second that, although I have only second hand reports. My mom, who was an LD/ED(*) teacher, did a couple of stints working in institutions during her career. She never worried about breaking up fights between boys. While not petite, she was a smallish woman, but she could just wade in and the boys would back off because they didn't want to risk accidentally hitting a woman.

Girls on the other hand....

Actually, being a woman, she was better able than men to break up the fights between boys. Male teachers did not get the same respect. Of course, this was the '50s, '60s and '70s and maybe boys today would fail to back off their fight if a woman entered the fray.

(*)LD/ED = learning disabled/emotionally disturbed, terms I'm sure that have been left at the PC wayside.

 

[gburner]

Ah, shades of the old days. Golgo, it doesn't happen often but I agree 100%
with your post. At the facility where I worked, an incident like this was common place...and in 12 years I don't ever recall the cops being called except when there was an AWOL. I'm not trying to sound like billy bad a$$, but we always handled stuff in house. I also second what you wrote about female inmates...
what a herd!

 

[Kevlarman]

Gives a new meaning to the term "Catholic Schoolgirls in Trouble."