Student Journalist’s Photos Returned, Fired Coach Demonstrations End

Demonstrations protesting the termination of a football coach that began on Tuesday ended Monday.

Tommy Leach was fired last week for unreleased reasons, kicking off daily demonstrations at Chaparral High School.

“Right now, everything’s quiet. Everything’s settled in now,” said Moy Bacsal, 17, a junior at the school during lunch break Monday.

“There are police just walking around and nothing’s happening,” said Mikaela Betts, a 16-year-old junior.

Extra deputies were on the campus on Thursday and Friday, when the protests climaxed with students marching through the campus throwing bottles at campus resource officers.

Confiscated photos returned

A student journalist whose camera was snatched from his hands by the principal was returned with photos intact.

Jack Strutz, 17, was photographing the demonstration Thursday, when Principal Gil Compton grabbed the camera from his hands, he said.

The principal lunged for the camera – worth more than $1,000 – but missed the first time, the student recalled.

Sensing what was about to happen, he took the memory card containing the images out of the camera and pocketed it. The principal then made a successful grab at the camera, Strutz said.

The student followed the principal to the office to get his camera back, but the principal figured out the memory card was missing and ordered the student to hand it over.

Initially he refused, but after some arguing, he agreed to let the principal view the images on the card on the condition that he give the card back. The principal took the card and refused to return it, Strutz recalled.

Strutz’s parents called a lawyer – a family friend – and the lawyer called the district’s superintendant Friday. The memory card was returned to the student the same day, Strutz said.

Compton declined to return a call asking for comment.