The Manitowoc Police Department and Manitowoc Public School District have received some backlash for how the threats to Manitowoc Lincoln High School over the weekend were handled.
We sat down with SGT Andrew Trilling from the Manitowoc Police Department, who responded to the claims that the MPSD and MPD were downplaying the threats. He told SeehaferNews.com that the Police Department followed through with the initial release by the School District. “We never want to take away what the School District says, or even how parents feel about sending their kids to school,” Trilling said. “Unfortunately the broad message that was out there was that the entire thing was downplayed. It was never the intention of the School District or the Police Department to have that kind of message.”
Another thing that parents were talking about online was the rate at which information was released to the public. SGT Trilling explained that it is a challenge anytime there is a minor involved. “The challenge is how much information can we release because of the confidentiality of the juvenile,” Trilling explained, “We struggle with that because our first and foremost concern is the safety of not only the students and staff but the community.”
We asked SGT Trilling what the policy is within the Police Department if a threat of this nature is received, and he said it really depends on how the information is received. He said that “If the information comes into the schools, a lot of time the schools look at it first, and will pass it along to the school resource officer.”
The Police Sergeant told SeehaferNews.com that the Police Department encourages anyone who sees a threat of any kind to report it to the MPD, so they can conduct an investigation, instead of posting it on social media.
Threats of any kind are taken very seriously and will be treated as if they are legitimate.
