Nine-year-old Patrick Timoney with his Lego action figure carrying a toy machine gun barely 2 inches long.
Principal’s Swift Action Negates Harmful Threat
By Jerry A. Kane
A Staten Island fourth grader was snatched up from lunch period, hauled to the principal’s office, and almost suspended by the South Beach school principal for playing with a plastic Lego police figure holding a toy machine gun, barely two inches long. The boy’s mother said her son loves the toy figure because his dad is a retired police officer.
“The gun was so little,” the boy said. “I don’t understand why the principal got so upset. I was a little nervous. They made me sign a statement.”
The perp, 9-year-old Patrick Timoney, and a friend were playing with Lego figures during lunch when the plucky PS 52 Principal, Evelyn Matroianni, spied the harmful, threatening toy and apprehended the disobedient child for violating the school’s no-tolerance policy for toy guns, thereby defusing a potentially explosive situation, ensuring the safety of the children, and avoiding an outbreak of violence.
Margie Feinberg, a Department of Education spokeswoman, praised Matroianni for her actions in confiscating the pinky-sized plastic toy and checking with the DOE security administrator to determine if the perp should be suspended. The DOE regards all imitation weapons as harmful to the school community.
A conference was held with Matroianni, the perp, and his parents to discuss the violation, and it was decided no further disciplinary action would be taken against the perp. School officials were satisfied that the perp had agreed to leave his harmful, threatening toy at home from now on.
“The issue was resolved,” said Feinberg. “The child will not be bringing the toy gun into school.”
Matroianni’s action was decisive, daring, and swift, and as evident by the frightened perp’s own admission, quite effective.
“I’m never bringing a toy to school again,” he said.
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