WINDHAM — There was a scare at Windham High School Thursday as a police officer ordered a group of students to the ground, as part of a drill.
Despite a scheduled lockdown drill being canceled at Windham High School on Thursday, police officers still took it upon themselves to check access points and do a walk-through of the school. That’s when the superintendent says one of the officers went into the cafeteria hollering it was a drill, and telling students to get down.
“Oh, I’m sure it was a very scary situation for the children,” parent Heather Rose said.
CBS 13 heard from some upset parents, whose children were ordered to the floor by that police officer. The Windham police chief says even though the officer told students this was a drill, which it really wasn’t, students had no idea what was going on.
“Unfortunately, at some point in the communication, an officer thought this was more of a full blown drill,” Chief Kevin Schofield said.
The principal said even if this had been an actual lockdown drill, police officers would never go into a room and order kids to the ground.
“The way that we structure our drills is never meant to scare kids,” Principal Chris Howell said. “We want to make sure that they’re safe. We want to make sure they feel comfortable at Windham High School. And the purpose and the reason why we drill is actually to make sure that kids know what to do, and who to rely upon, when we have an emergency.”
The principal and police chief met with students and explained what happened.
“Definitely, there were some anxious kids,” Howell said.
They told students the officer made a mistake. The kids said they understand.
“There was also a couple kids who made some comments about ‘thank you for keeping us safe,’” Howell said.
Even though the superintendent says this incident is regrettable, he says it does reflect how seriously Windham Police takes the safety of students and staff here.
Follow the Bangor Daily News on Facebook for the latest Maine news.