MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Murfreesboro’s new Chief of Police, Karl Durr, is facing his first big challenge as questions multiply about the arrests of several grade school children last week.
On Friday, an as yet undisclosed number of children ranging from 6 to 11 years of age were arrested at Hobgood Elemetary School. Parents are telling local media the children were arrested for failing to stop a fight they witnessed at an off-campus location.
The MPD has declined to comment on the case, citing a state law that prohibits the release of information regarding juvenile arrests. However, in a meeting of concerned residents at a local church on Sunday, Durr promised to open an investigation into the incident this week.
Yesterday, leading Democratic state lawmakers Mike Steward and John Ray Clemmons called for state and federal investigations into the arrests. In an editorial out this morning, the Tennessean calls the arrests “a lapse of judgment,” and “a setback for community-police relations.”
Karl Durr joined the MPD in early April, replacing longtime Chief of Police Glenn Chrisman.