(Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that possible charges against OPRF students allegedly involved in this fight have not yet been filed as Oak Park police continue to investigate.)
A female security guard at Oak Park and River Forest High School was injured on Feb. 9 as she was trying to break up a fight between two students at the school. The fight, part of which was captured on cell phone video, was first reported by television station CBS Chicago.
The security guard was injured and taken to the hospital and released. She wants to press charges but the Oak Park Police Department is still investigating the incident.
“A female campus safety staff member from OPRF HS sustained injury while attempting to break up a fight between two students at approximately 9 a.m. on Feb. 9,” said Dan Yopchick, a village government spokesperson, in an email. “The injuries sustained were to the head and arm and she was transported to Rush for treatment. The battery victim indicated a desire to proceed with charges, but again that has not occurred to date as the investigation remains pending.”
A day after the fight OPRF Principal Lynda Parker sent an email to students and families informing them of the incident.
“Physical violence in our school is unacceptable,” Parker wrote. “The strictest consequences will be issued in accordance with our Behavior Education Plan which governs our response to student behavior.”
Another OPRF security guard was injured in a fight at the school a few weeks ago. One of the injured security guards is back at work, but the other is not according to Karin Sullivan, OPRF spokesperson.
Sullivan said that, as of Feb. 10, there have been 38 fights at OPRF since the current school year began in August.
There was a large fight at OPRF on Nov. 1 that resulted in the school being placed on a soft lockdown for about an hour. Ten students received disciplinary consequences as a result of that fight.
Last fall security guards, officially known as campus safety officers, complained to the school board about the difficulty of their jobs complaining that that they were understaffed.
