No 'indications of criminality' in Arizona student's death; Principal's forced leave protested

The law enforcement agency investigating the death of a Phoenix high school football player last month does not see signs of criminality in the boy's death, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, parents and students at Cesar Chavez High School in Laveen are calling for the school's principal to be reinstated. He was placed on administrative leave following Christopher Hampton's death during the school's football team summer camp in the White Mountains.

Christopher was found dead in Show Low Lake on July 18. He was 15. He had been attending a training camp with the Cesar Chavez football team nearby at Blue Ridge High in Lakeside. The school's football coach and the assistant coaches on the trip were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the district.

The Navajo County Sheriff's Office, which has also been conducting an investigation, does "not have indications of criminality that are involved in this tragic incident," according to spokesperson Tori Gorman.

"The case is still open and will remain open until there is a report" from the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office "on the cause and manner of death," Gorman wrote in an email. "These reports can take many weeks before they are distributed to the law enforcement agency."

Principal Robert Grant and the school's athletic director were also placed on leave. They were not on the trip, according to district spokesperson Richard Franco.

Grant, who has worked in the district since 2013, became the school's principal in 2022 after serving as principal of Bostrom High School, an alternative education center. Shakira Simmons, the Phoenix Union principal coach, has been serving as the school's acting principal.

Cesar Chavez senior Noah Sosa, 17, said that having a leader who knew Christopher personally might help students process the tragedy of losing their classmate.

"Mr. Grant knew Chris personally and knew the child he was," said Noah, Christopher's friend and wrestling teammate.

Community mourns tragedy: 'Chris will live in our hearts forever': Cesar Chavez mourns football camp tragedy

In late July, Noah's mom, Crystal Sosa, started a petition on change.org titled "Get Our Principal Mr. Robert Grant back to school ASAP!" It has since collected over 690 signatures and more than two dozen supportive comments.

Grant shouldn't be under investigation, Sosa said.

"I don't know why they're punishing all of us," she said. "He needs to be there."

Sosa said she has known Grant since he held two assistant principal roles at Cesar Chavez from 2016 to 2019. She was part of the hiring process that selected Grant as principal, she said.

"I saw all of the effort that he has put into the school," Sosa said. "He has never, ever denied me a meeting or a phone call. ... It's not just me. It's for any parent that reaches out to him."

Sosa said she wants a response from the district within the next week.

"I don't want to wait a whole month" until the next scheduled Phoenix Union governing board meeting on Sept. 7, she said. "We need answers now."

Hundreds attend vigil: Hundreds attend vigil for Cesar Chavez High School student found dead in Show Low Lake

Franco, the Phoenix Union spokesperson, declined to provide updates on the district's investigation except to say it is still underway. He also declined to comment on the petition in support of Grant.

"We continue to grieve Christopher’s loss, and our hearts are with his family," Franco said in a statement. "However, in order to protect the investigation and out of respect for the Hampton family, we have no comment at this time regarding the case or the personnel matter."

Reached by phone, the Grant family directed The Arizona Republic to Franco.

Cesar Chavez parent Lisa Doromal signed the petition to show support for Grant's return.

"It's been a tragic situation," said Doromal, whose daughter is a junior. She said she commends the district for "following protocol and due diligence."

"We understand that certain procedures have to be put in place," Doromal said. "But we want to make sure that when the investigation concludes that we can get our leader back to his position and have him shepherd us through this event."

Noah started his senior year at Cesar Chavez on Monday and hopes Grant will return to the campus soon.

"He definitely kept our school in check, and a lot of kids respected him very much," Noah said.

Madeleine Parrish covers K-12 education. Reach her at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter at @maddieparrish61.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cesar Chavez parents, students call for reinstatement of principal