The case has yet to go before a grand jury, which could reject the charge or approve a different charge.
Authorities said setting off a fire alarm at a school is a serious offense that could lead to harmful consequences, and the law reflects that.
But Montgomery County Public Defender Rudy Wehner said it concerns him that a young suspect who pulled a fire alarm could be convicted of a high-level felony that is unable to be expunged from his record.
“That person would be a convicted felon for the rest of their life,” Wehner said.
Ramsey was caught on camera May 12 activating the alarm at the school, according to a Vandalia police report.
Ramsey told police he triggered the alarm accidentally, but alarms at the school are designed to prevent unintentional activations. Users must reach under a protective cover and then raise the handle before the alarm sounds.
Surveillance footage from the school showed Ramsey walking by the alarm, returning to it and intentionally setting it off, according to police.
Firefighters, police and medical personnel were dispatched to the school, which was evacuated.
Ramsey was suspended for three days. His family has declined to comment for this story.
Vandalia Lt. Dan Swafford said pulling a fire alarm as a prank or for any other reason carries more serious legal consequences today than in the past.
“When we did it back in school, it maybe was not that big of a deal,” he said. “But if you yelled ‘fire’ in a movie theater, they would not slap a felony on you, and now they’ll do it in a heartbeat.”
A major change in the law took place when state Rep. William Batchelder, R-Medina, sponsored a bill the Ohio Legislature passed in 2007 that carried stiffer penalties for inducing panic.
Among other things, the legislation increased the penalty for a person who initiates or circulates a report of an alleged impending fire, explosion or catastrophe at a school that leads to its evacuation.
Batchelder, who is now House speaker, crafted the legislation after Brunswick High School in north-central Ohio was targeted with two bomb threats that led to a three-day closure of the school, said Michael Dittoe, communications director for the Ohio House.
“During testimony in House committee, (Batchelder) indicated that these threats are terrorist acts, which warrants making them a second-degree felony,” Dittoe said.
But Wehner — who is not representing Ramsey — said that although he understands evacuating a school is a serious matter, a second-degree felony charge is not appropriate under all circumstances.
“It all revolves around somebody, hopefully, exercising the discretion that says we are not going to follow through on a (second-degree felony charge) just because we could, unless the facts really warrant it,” he said.
Burglary, engaging in sexual conduct with a minor and making a terrorist threat are all lesser felonies than inducing panic, with school specification.
About the Author
