BATH

Police will not file charges against a 9-year-old Fisher Mitchell School student who allegedly threatened another student with a jackknife at school.

Lt. Robert Savary said Tuesday there is a discrepancy in the accounts given by the student with the knife, and the other student, who also is 9. Police received a report of “threatening” at 5:16 p.m. Monday.

“There was a knife, and the school is dealing with it appropriately,” Savary said.
Savary said he will ask Jim Gillies, head of Volunteers in Policing, to speak with the student who allegedly brought the jackknife to school. Gillies and other Volunteers in Policing members work well with students in such instances, Savary said.

Patrick Manuel, superintendent of Regional School Unit 1, said he cannot discuss matters regarding specific students, and declined to discuss what, if any, disciplinary action was taken.
RSU 1 has a weapons policy in place, and school officials acted according to that policy, he said.

The RSU 1 policy states in part that “possession and/or use of articles commonly used as weapons or designed to inflict bodily harm and/or to threaten, intimidate, coerce or harass another person” is prohibited. Also, “threats to commit violence against persons or property” are not allowed.

Though a jackknife might not be considered a weapon “designed to inflict bodily harm,” Manuel said any type of instrument such as a knife is a concern.

“I’m confident that the matter was taken seriously,” he said. “We followed policy.”