KIDS EXCITED BY DRUG LESSONS PARAMUS PROGRAM DRAWS ENTHUSIASM

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, February 13, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NORTH CENTRAL BERGEN/YOUR TOWN RECORD | Page 1

To fifth-graders at the Paramus public schools, the Police Department’s DARE program urging children to stay away from drugs is a hit.
And to Paramus Police Detective Kevin Smith and Patrolman Bill Nutland, who are coordinating the 18-week pilot Drug Abuse Resistance Education program at Eastbrook and Westbrook middle schools, the students enthusiasm has been infectious.
The excitement was evident at DARE flag-raising ceremonies at the two schools. A rousing ovation, punctuated with “woof, woof, woof,” a la Arsenio Hall’s “dog pound,” greeted Nutland and Smith when they spoke before 115 10- and 11-year-olds and their teachers gathered at the gymnasium of the Westbrook School last week.
The officers were treated to a similar reception several weeks earlier at the Eastbrook School.
Both times the children had gathered to hoist the DARE flag and recite the pledge to say no to drugs. Rainy weather moved last week’s ceremony indoors. The change did not discourage the children, however. They remained as rambunctious as ever.
“What are you going to say when someone comes to you on the street and says, `Hey kid, you want to try some drugs? ” Nutland asked.
“No!” came the deafening reply, their voices bouncing off the walls of the gymnasium.
“Do you really mean it?” asked Nutland, like a preacher warming to the task.
“Yes!” echoed the chorus.
The DARE flag black with DARE in red letters and the credo, “To Keep Kids off Drugs,” in white is to remind visitors to the school that DARE is there, working everyday of the year, Nutland told the students.
The message seems to be sinking in. The children excitedly talked about what they are learning and how they feel about Nutland, Smith, and the other officers from the Police Department who come and help out.
Westbrook School’s Sumon Nandy, 10, said he learned that drugs are bad for him and could kill him. Jennifer Ward, 10, of the Eastbrook School said all the children were always excited to have “Kevin” Detective Smith around.
The officers go to the schools Nutland at Westbrook and Smith at Eastbrook three times each week. They play softball and football with the children and teach the DARE curriculum, which Eastbrook Principal Barbara Hyde said focuses on self-esteem and drug-related education.
Hyde said the school district and the Police Department chose the fifth grade to start the pilot program because it is a critical age to try to reach the children: They are under less parental supervision; they are sometimes with older students; and they are exposed to bad influences from the television and other media.
“There are more chances for them to make wrong decisions,” Hyde said. “There’s no guarantee that this is going to turn the world around, but a lot of things haven’t worked and this is a really positive program.”

Keywords: PARAMUS; DRUG; ABUSE; STUDENT; CHILD; SCHOOL; POLICE

Caption: COLOR PHOTO – ED HILL / THE RECORD – Fifth-graders standing with policemen who taught them how to avoid drugs. From left, Keith Smollin, Detective Kevin Smith, Laura Hofsommer, Patrolman Bill Nutland, and T.J. Cullen.

BOGOTA POLICE HUNT MAN WHO FLED; SOUGHT FOR NON-PAYMENT OF FINE IN AUTO DEATH

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, December 27, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A 22-year-old man who was convicted of drunken driving in the 1988 death of a 5-year-old boy escaped through a window on Tuesday as his wife prevented police from arresting him for not paying a fine levied as part of his sentence, police said.

Peter Lamanna, who police said was still at large Wednesday, did not pay the $1,645 fine imposed by a Superior Court judge in Bergen County in May. The court referred his case to Teaneck Municipal Court, which issued a warrant last week, said a Bogota police spokesman.

Lamanna answered the door at 389 Linden Ave., where his in-laws live, after police Officer Daniel Maye knocked at the door about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, the spokesman said. Police said Lamanna married a Bogota woman and moved to Florida after his June 19 release from the Bergen County Jail.

When Maye tried to arrest him, Lamanna allegedly ran into the house. Joanne Lamanna, 24, grabbed Maye and prevented him from going after her husband, police said. The Bergen County Police canine unit later searched the area for Lamanna, but was unable to find him.

Mrs. Lamanna was charged with interfering with a police officer and with assault on a police officer. She was released on $450 bail Wednesday.

Lamanna was acquitted May 23 of a death-by-auto charge in the death of Sultan Chaudhri, who was crossing the street with his mother when Lamanna hit them with his Chevrolet Camaro. The mother, Nighat Chaudhri, 32, suffered minor injuries.

Lamanna was sentenced to 30 days in jail on drunken-driving and other charges. His license was revoked for two years, consecutive to a four-year suspension imposed in 1988 by the Division of Motor Vehicles.

DAD HELD GIRL HOSTAGE BEFORE, COPS SAY

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 7, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B02

A 32-year-old Teaneck man who shot a neighbor Sunday night and then held his young daughter hostage as “protection” from police used the child the same way in an incident this spring, police said.

As he did Sunday, Shawn Thompson released then 16-month-old Jasmine after a dispute with his wife on June 19 over custody of the child, police said.

Police defused that situation without harm to anyone.

Thompson did not threaten to harm his daughter in either incident, according to police reports.

On Sunday night, Thompson allegedly shot Earl Johnson, a neighbor who apparently was attempting to mediate a dispute between Thompson and his mother.

Johnson, 29, was in critical condition at Holy Name Hospital with a neck wound Tuesday, a hospital spokeswoman said. Doctors repaired Johnson’s right jugular vein, but were unable to remove the bullet.

Thompson was being held in the Bergen County Jail Tuesday on $50,000 bail. Teaneck police charged him with aggravated assault and possession of firearms.

The shooting occurred after Hazel Thompson asked police to remove her son from the home they shared at 51 Garden St., police said.

Mrs. Thompson; her companion, Ernest Walters; her father; Jasmine; and Johnson, who lives across the street from the Thompsons at 44 Garden St., were in the house when police arrived.

Both Johnson and Walters had tried unsuccessfully to talk Shawn Thompson into leaving the house, police said.

Johnson took Mrs. Thompson’s father to his home across the street. Mrs. Thompson then left with police to seek a restraining order.

Moments later, police learned that someone had been shot at the house. Johnson had somehow left the house and was taken to the hospital, police said. Thompson had taken his daughter and was talking to police.

“This is one step higher than the last time, and I’m going to take it one step higher,” Sgt. Fred Ahearn said Thompson told him on the phone. “I’m not going to jail, and I know my daughter is my protection.”

But after talking with a relative and with Capt. Gary Fiedler, Thompson released the child and surrendered.

Police, armed with a search warrant, found two rifles, two handguns, and ammunition when they searched the house.

In the June incident, police said Thompson had a dispute with his wife, who had threatened to take the child away.

Thompson, who had taken Jasmine after the dispute, held police at bay for a short time, but then released her to an aunt. He was not charged.