In re L.G., Case No. 2017-0877
Second District Court of Appeals (Montgomery County)

ISSUE: Does the protection against self-incrimination guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment apply to interviews conducted by a private citizen, specifically the safety and security director for a public school system?

BACKGROUND:
Someone called police on Oct. 27, 2015, and reported that there was a bomb in Dayton's Longfellow Alternative School. Law enforcement contacted school officials, who evacuated the building. Jamie Bullens, executive director of safety and security for the City of Dayton Public Schools, met police officers at the school.

Bullens supervises 26 school resource officers, who are trained as special police officers and sworn in by the police department. They have authority to arrest people for conduct that takes place on school grounds. They carry handcuffs, but not weapons.

To look for a bomb, Bullens and a Dayton police sergeant enlisted bomb-sniffing dogs. None was found. The students were directed to gather in the gym, and Bullens told them a local Crime Stoppers group was offering a reward up to $1,000 for details about to those responsible for the bomb threat. Two people came forward, giving school officials information that implicated a student identified as L.G. in court documents.