Nine Schools on Lockdown after Officer Shooting Hoax

L.A. Unified School District (LAUSD) officer Stenroos was probably hoping that headlines about him would say something like Heroic Officer Shot by Burglary Suspect. Instead, after thousands of students and local area residents were essentially on lockdown for several hours while hundreds of officers were in hot pursuit of the “perpetrator” we learn that he wasn’t shot at all,  and there was no burglary suspect.  The headlines read about a LAUSD officer tangled up in a “hoax.”

According to the Beverly Hills Courier, Jeff Stenroos, who is still a LAUSD police officer, made his first appearance in Van Nuys Superior Court on March 23^rd. His arraignment was postponed until April 6 however, because he asked for time to hire an attorney before entering a plea to charges of perjury, filing a false report, and insurance fraud. He is said to have confessed to perpetrating a hoax back in January.

Stenroos has been accused of faking his own shooting while patrolling El Camino Real High School’s perimeter on January 19^th. It is also alleged that he went on to tell fellow officers that he had been shot once in the chest while wearing a bulletproof vest.

He was charged March 10 with one felony count each of filing a false report, perjury by declaration, preparing false documentary evidence and insurance fraud, and one misdemeanor count of false report of an emergency.

A passerby was said to have used his police radio to call for help after finding Stenroos on the ground.

As noted by ABC News, a manhunt that lasted several hours occurred because of the officer’s report. It consisted of nearly 10,000 students from nine schools being confined to their classrooms for nearly six hours with no food and no bathroom breaks. Surrounding residents were also left with no access as they tried to get to their homes after work.

Once being treated at Northridge Medical Center, Stenroos returned to the command post about 7 pm, apparently to assist in the investigation.

An investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division determined there had been no shooting at the school as Stenroos had first described and that he had created false evidence when he claimed he was shot, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

On January 27^th, Stenroos, who has been on the school police force for nearly eight years, was arrested on suspicion of filing a false police report. He was released about five hours later on $20,000 bail.

“Today we have begun the process of separating School Police Officer Jeff Stenroos from the Los Angeles Unified School District,” LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said the day the charges were filed.

After his arrest, Stenroos was placed on administrative leave.

“Immediately after this rogue officer perpetuated a hoax that affected thousands, I apologized on behalf of the Los Angeles Unified School District,” Cortines said.

“I remain embarrassed. Mr. Stenroos is neither a good example of the men and women who serve as members of our school police force, nor is he a good example for our students. Lying is never acceptable.”

Back in January, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck stated that he was “furious” about the events that had unfolded. In a statement that was released shortly after the charges were filed, Beck noted that his feelings had not changed.

“The actions of Officer Stenroos put into motion a series of events that wasted valuable department resources, negatively impacted thousands of school children and their families, and disrupted the lives of a countless number of people who were inconvenienced by the perimeter set up to catch a suspect who never existed,” he said.

“Officer Stenroos deserves no leniency and the charges he now faces are more than appropriate after what he put this city through.”

Stenroos faces up to five years in prison if he convicted.