Superintendent: Skateboarders are a Problem at South Pas Schools

A day after a scuffle occurred between a South Pasadena Middle School janitor and a teen boy — a scuffle caught on tape – Superintendent Joel Shapiro said trespassing skateboarders are a big problem at the school. 

Signs are posted everywhere that skateboarding on school property is against municipal code, but kids still do it, and endanger other students and staff, he said Wednesday. Although Shapiro said he has not seen the You Tube video of a janitor pushing a teenager and chest bumping him backward, he said the matter is being investigated by the South Pasadena Police Department.

"I don't know all the details about this incident, but I know those young people shouldn't have been there,'' Shapiro said, noting the incident occurred around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, a busy time on campus.  It is unclear whether the teenager who was pushed, and the teenager filming the incident, are SPUSD students. 

The video shows a visibly irritated janitor shooing away skateboarders. He then walks very closely to one boy, appears to smack him and pushes him. After the student stumbles backward, the janitor then chest bumps him. As the teen fights back, the two end up scuffling into the bushes. 

Unless the video has again been made private, you may watch it here. 

An email blasted Tuesday night to parents at SPMS, by principal Dave Kubela, said the custodian was taken to an area hospital for evaluation. Additionally, the email also stated that three skateboarders attacked the evening custodian. 

Still, there were additional police patrols on and around campus Wednesday, Shapiro said. 

"We're working with the police department. We want to make sure our students and staff are protected...and that trespassers who shouldn’t be on campus are off campus,'' he said.

Additionally, Shapiro said that vandalism to school property from skateboarders is a problem at several South Pasadena Unified School District buildings, but particularly at SPMS. 

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