MIDLAND, Texas — In a three-page statement released by Glenn Harwood, a Midland attorney running for Midland District Attorney, he calls out the handling of the Midland Christian and Trinity School cases.
Harwood claims that law enforcement and the District Attorney's Office "missed the mark" by applying the mandatory reporting law, a law that is normally used in child abuse cases where children are suffering child abuse from a parent or caregiver.
"The law meant to protect children from their caregivers is being applied in a way that seems to indicate that any time one child assaults another child at a school, that becomes a mandatory reporting event," said Harwood. "And I don’t think that’s how the law was intended, and I don’t think that's how the law is required to be applied, and it seems to be applied in a selective and unjust manner."
He notes how there are good uses for this law. However, he believes this case is not one.
"I think that law enforcement is misapplying the law," said Harwood. "There’s a good use for this law, and there’s good circumstances to apply this law, but I don’t think this is the right use for it, and I don’t think these are the right circumstances."
According to Harwood, because administrators made the parents aware of the situation, there didn't appear to be any intent to conceal.
"Certainly there are times when it’s appropriate, and administrators should be required to report to law enforcement, and I can think of a lot of examples where even child on child assault would rise to the level of child abuse and mandatory reporting should apply," said Harwood. "I’m just suggesting in these cases, under these facts, there didn’t appear to be any intent to conceal. The administrators made the parents aware of what happened."