School police chief says alleged hazing incident at Farmersville High School isolated, not culture
FARMERSVILLE — The Farmersville ISD Police Department said Thursday it arrested nine high school students for alleged offenses related to hazing. The student-athletes face charges of unlawful restraint.
Chief of Police Steve Wade said the district started an investigation on September 26th, as soon as officials were notified about the alleged incident. Wade tells CBS News Texas that a student was taken into custody the same day.
Wade said eight more student-athletes were arrested on Tuesday as the investigation progressed, facing the same charge. The chief told CBS News Texas three students were hazed on campus.
"I would say that it was during the hours that students and staff are on campus," Wade said.
The investigation does involve juveniles, which limits the amount of information that can be released. Wade said that revealing the sport of the alleged offenders would identify them, so he is withholding that information.
Chief Wade also said they looked into whether the criminal accusations are part of athletic tradition.
"That is not the case. We investigated that. We talked to former students who have since graduated," He said. "This is an isolated incident. This is not a culture."
Wade said the investigation remains open as they try to verify social media rumors to determine whether a crime exists.
In the meantime, he said this has allowed school officials to remind students about the consequences of hazing.
In a statement released by the district, all evidence gathered by the police department will be submitted to the Collin County District Attorney for processing.
The district does note that school disciplinary actions are separate from criminal charges.