The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AN eleventh-grade CI Gibson Senior High School student said she broke up a fight that went viral last week because it was the right thing to do despite risks to her well-being.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Chaswell Hanna presented Rye-Aah Canter with a student commendation certificate at her high school for showing bravery yesterday after she de-escalated a fight involving her peers off campus last week.

Canter, an aspiring nurse and lawyer, urged students facing similar situations not to be afraid to make the right choice.

“Me risking my life to go inside that fight, I could’ve been the one that got (stabbed), but I just was like, this is the right time, do this and then it was the right time because I didn’t get hurt in the process,” she said.

ACP Hanna noted that several fights involving students have resulted in injuries in recent weeks.

“We know we have school resource officers in all of the junior and senior high schools who have been working hard to improve school safety, but you know they cannot do it alone,” he said.

“And on one particular incident on one of the videos, we have a student who was instrumental in breaking up a fight and preventing two students from seriously injuring themselves.”

ACP Hanna said since police have returned to the campuses, officials have seen a reduction in violent acts on campus.

“The only trend we’ve noticed this semester is dealing with parents,” he said.

“We have a number of parents who feel as though they can come on school campuses and get into altercations with teachers and school administrators, some of it dealing with the grades their children may have had, and we want to remind parents if you have to speak to a school administrator, there is a way to do that.”

He said police would protect students and faculty.

“We have charged parents and placed them before the court for assaulting persons in the school environment, and we want to let members of the public know that we want to do things the right way,” he said.