A West Allis man threatened a principal and prompted a lockdown at a Horace Mann Elementary School, police say
A West Allis man has been criminally charged after police say he entered an elementary school and started screaming and swearing in front of a first-grade class and threatened the school's principal.
Dane Bumpus, 30, was charged June 3 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.
The charge stems from an incident at Horace Mann Elementary School, 6213 W. Lapham St., West Allis.
According to West Allis police and the criminal complaint:
At 12:04 p.m. June 1, police were dispatched to the school for a report of an unknown male screaming obscenities inside the school.
When police arrived, they saw a man later identified as Bumpus standing in front of the main entrance. Bumpus told police he heard a child yelling inside the school, so he went inside to help.
A first-grade teacher told police that Bumpus had entered her classroom while 25 first-graders were in it and asked if everything was OK.
Thinking Bumpus was a custodian, the teacher said she was fine.
Bumpus said he heard someone screaming for help. The teacher said no one was screaming and asked him to leave.
Bumpus then shouted an obscenity in front of the class and left the classroom, stepping into the hallway.
The school's principal, Greg Burton, then confronted Bumpus, who told Burton he thought he heard someone yelling for help.
When Burton asked him to leave, Bumpus started yelling and threatening Burton.
Bumpus was escorted out of the building.
The incident prompted Horace Mann to initiate a lockdown until the issue was resolved.
It also caused the school to increase the police presence around the school that day and to cancel the school's Field Day, which had been scheduled for the following day.
"We know that these situations are scary, especially within the context of the most recent and tragic school shooting in Texas," Burton said in a letter sent June 1 to Horace Mann parents and staff members. "We are grateful for the swift response of our front office team, our school administration, and our West Allis Police."
All the buildings in the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District have secure entrances, and the door at Horace Mann was locked that day, Amanda Stewart, the district's director of communication and community relations said in an email.
She said Bumpus was buzzed into the main office in the same way that all visitors and guests are let in by front office staff members.
When asked whether the incident might lead to any changes in that process, Stewart said an "after action review" would be conducted, which would be an opportunity for a lessons-learned review and to plan for future mitigation.
Bumpus was arrested June 1, but released from custody prior to formal charges being filed, West Allis police said.
After charges were filed, an arrest warrant was issued for his arrest, according to online court records.
The disorderly conduct charge carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.
Contact Bob Dohr at 262-361-9140 or bob.dohr@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BobDohr1.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: West Allis man charged in disturbance at Horace Mann Elementary School
