The Sedalia School District 200 and the Lebanon Police Department are investigating a reported incident involving the Smith-Cotton High School boys basketball team while they were in Lebanon on Friday.
According to a LPD report, on Sunday, police received a report from a parent in Sedalia who said her child and other S-C basketball players were subjected to verbal threats and racial epithets by other customers as they were leaving a McDonald’s restaurant in Lebanon about 10 p.m. Friday. The report stated the parent also said somebody threatened the students with a Taser weapon as he was making a racial epithet.
Krista Pagett, the mother of a S-C player who notified the LPD of this incident, said she just wants to spread the word that this type of behavior is “unacceptable and won’t be tolerated.”
“I was very appreciative of the coaches keeping our kids safe by getting them loaded on the school bus before the situation escalated further, said Pagett “I’m really hurt and really confused by this whole thing,” said Pagett. “It was a really hard discussion at home.”
The Lebanon officer in his report said he told the mother this type of behavior would not be tolerated and the incident would be investigated. A Lebanon police sergeant confirmed that an active investigation is underway and a school resource officer at Lebanon High School is assisting with the investigation.
Sedalia School District 200 officials said Monday in a statement:
“On Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, the Smith-Cotton High School boys basketball team was involved in an incident at a fast-food restaurant in Lebanon, Mo. Administrators from the Sedalia 200 and Lebanon school districts are working together to gather information about the incident, which involved S-C players being targeted with racial epithets.
“The Lebanon Police Department is investigating the incident, and Sedalia 200 representatives have traveled to Lebanon to provide their accounts of what happened.”
The Lebanon R-3 School District also confirmed it is assisting in an ongoing investigation with Sedalia 200 officials and Lebanon police.
No further details were released and the incident remains under investigation by the Lebanon R3 School District, the Sedalia School District 200 and the Lebanon Police Department.
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Sedalia 200, Lebanon police investigate incident at McDonald’s
By Tim Epperson
tepperson@sedaliademocrat.com
Reach Tim Epperson at 660-530-0146.