Police called to help with 2 Roseville High School fights

ROSEVILLE — At press time, Roseville High School students were facing possible criminal charges after they were involved in two fights at school during the morning of Nov. 6.

According to two letters dated Nov. 6 and Nov. 7 that Roseville High School Principal Jason Bettin sent to parents and guardians, there were two separate fights involving female students in a short span of time before first hour. Neither fight was related to the other. The reason for the fights was not disclosed.

While the fights were quickly broken up, school officials requested help from the Roseville Police Department because some of the students involved were continuing to be disorderly with staff who had intervened.

“That behavior prompted our shelter-in-place to move students into classrooms and keep everyone safe since this occurred before first hour had started,” Bettin stated. “The reason our shelter-in-place lasted so long was to get the students involved in these fights removed from the building or released to their parents before resuming our day.”

Bettin assured parents that during emergency situations such as the fights, the safety of the students is the school’s first priority. During a building lockdown, only law enforcement is allowed entry into the school until the shelter-in-place is lifted. Access to the building or the ability to answer phones is limited until the shelter-in-place is lifted.

Bettin also put to rest rumors on social media that weapons were involved in the fighting.

“That rumor is not true,” he stated. “No weapons were involved or retrieved from these incidents.”

According to the letters, the students involved violated the core school values and will be ticketed for violating the city of Roseville ordinance regarding fighting on school property. They could be charged with disorderly conduct and/or other charges based on their role and face school disciplinary consequences up to and including recommendations for expulsion.

Attempts to find out, through the district, the grade levels of the students and how many students were involved were unsuccessful. Attempts to determine how long the shelter-in-place lasted also were unsuccessful.

Police Chief Mitch Berlin confirmed there were two different fights. The first fight took place at approximately 8 a.m. with the second fight following soon after. The direct participants in each fight were different and all girls. Berlin said the two fights might have been related. No weapons were used in the fights, and each was broken up quickly.

Berlin said the direct participants in the fight will be issued citations for fighting on school property. He said other charges may come from the incidents. In addition, Berlin said several students might also face charges with their indirect involvement in the fights.

“We’ve had very few this year,” Berlin said about school fights. “The staff and our school resource officers do a great job getting involved prior to any physical contact, de-escalating the situations and working with the school staff to do restorative (justice) with the kids.”

There is no information on the cause of the fight, other than it originated from a conflict outside of school, according to Berlin.

“This is an isolated incident and we’re going to continue to work with the schools to make them safe and a good environment to learn in,” Berlin said.

Berlin said the schools are “very safe” and said those with questions about the security of the schools can reach out to him directly at (586) 447-4502. He urged those with information on the fight to reach out to Roseville police at (586) 447-4483.