A San Francisco police officer was ordered out of John O'Connell High School for arresting an alleged gang member in connection with a double homicide without first consulting the principal.
Officer Joel Babbs, who is assigned to the department's schools detail, thought he was doing his job Dec. 15, getting a potentially dangerous suspect out of the Mission District school as fast as possible and without incident.
The 15-year-old boy in question is one of three suspects arrested in connection with a double homicide at Papa Potrero's Pizza on 24th Street in September. Police suspect the killings were an act of revenge by gang members for an earlier slaying.
"For me this was a safety issue," said Babbs, a 19-year veteran of the force. "Do you want your child sitting next to a double-homicide suspect? What if a rival gang decided to come after the guy and shot up the place?"
However, O'Connell principal Rick Duber - who told us he believes in "intervention over suspension" - said he was upset that Babbs had not informed him of the planned arrest and had handcuffed the student in public.
" I am very concerned about (Babbs') actions," Duber wrote in a memo to his school district superior the day of the arrest, adding that "his action today precludes any possibility of him ever returning to our campus."
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