A Tennessee man was arrested after trying to pick his children up from their elementary school last week because he did not follow the proper pickup procedures.
Jim Howe, 40, a resident of Crossville Tenn., posted a video on YouTube from when he was arrested for disorderly conduct at the South Cumberland Elementary School. Howe can be seen in the video arguing with School Resource Officer Avery Aytes over the school’s policy for picking up children.
“The county jail is where you’re going,” Aytes said at one point of the conversation.
“That’s fine, I’ve been there before,” Howe answered.
“Good, you’re about to go there again,” Aytes said.
True to his word, Aytes eventually did handcuff Howe and charged him with disorderly conduct as he was led into a county sheriff’s vehicle. Howe told The Daily News Wednesday he was released and faces a Dec. 2 court date.
The controversy stems over a change in the procedure last week. Before, parents could park in the lot and come into the school to pick up the children, Howe said. But now the parents must wait in their vehicles and line up on the side of a local highway — which Howe said stretches a mile and is a safety concern.
The father of an 8- and 14-year-old said he learned of the policy when it went into effect Nov. 12 and got into an argument with Aytes when he tried to pick up his kids on foot.
Aytes told Howe to get back into his vehicle.
“You are the only one — the only one — who is making a big deal out of this,” the officer said. He later asked Howe is he “was proud of himself.”
So on Thursday, Howe said he decided to walk to the school instead of waiting in the long line.
That’s when he got arrested.
“They’re walking with me when school’s dismissed,” Howe told Aytes.
“No, they’re not,” the officer replied.
Donald Andrews, superintendent for the Cumberland County school district, told The News they made the change in policy, which parents received multiple notices about, to protect the students. Instead of anyone being able to just enter the building they now must wait in their car with a placard containing their child’s name.
“I make no apologies for the policy,” he said. “It was done for the safety of the children.”
Andrews also said he stands by Aytes’ actions – noting Howe was becoming disruptive inside the school building.
“I thought he showed a lot of restraint throughout situation and he finally had enough,” Andrews said. “I talked to the police officer. He replied to me he didn’t want to do this, but he said he had no choice.”
The district is working out the problems with the new policy and said many parents are in favor of it, Andrews said. The change came from a suggestion by the school’s Parent teacher Organization, he said.
Cumberland County Sheriff Butch Burgess did not yet return a call to The News, but told TV station WATE that Aytes was correct in following the school’s policy.
“The resource officers are there to enforce the law,” he said.
Howe said he is now following the policy.
“We have no choice but to follow it,” he said. “Either that or go to jail.”
But he said he still thinks the new policy is ultimately more dangerous because it makes parents sit in their cars and kids travel through traffic to get to their vehicle. He said he posted the videos his fiancée shot with her cellphone to create awareness on the issue.
“It’s a violation of our parental rights. It’s a violation of our rights as people,” he said. “I don’t have any regrets. … We have to stand up against bad policy and stand up for our rights. If we don’t we won’t have any.”
jlandau@nydailynews.com Follow on Twitter @joelzlandau
