Ohio Principal Blocks Police from Entering School After Bomb Hoax
Things got tense at Ridgeview Middle School in Columbus when two on-duty police officers arrived to investigate a bomb threat made by a student, even after it was confirmed to be a hoax. But Principal Natalie James wasn’t having it.
She denied them entry, citing that no security personnel were present and insisting she didn’t feel safe with their presence. “You can’t just go all over the building and do whatever you want,” she told them, captured clearly on bodycam footage.
The standoff lasted ten minutes. And in the end? The police walked away.
Parents aren’t surprised. James is known for her strong-willed leadership style. “She makes her own rules,” one parent said. “She’s basically a czar.”
Critics say she crossed a line. Brian Steel, President of the Capital City Fraternal Order of Police, said bluntly: “What she did was illegal. You can’t make a policy that trumps state and local law.”
Still, Principal James stood her ground, prioritizing what she says is a safer, calmer environment for students, without the escalated presence of law enforcement.
