Officer Pascali restrained and handcuffed a junior near the entrance to Whittier Woods during an evacuation due to a fire alarm Oct. 11.

A faulty smoke detector caused the fire alarm to sound. Administration used an annunciator board to locate the zone that was ringing, and realized that the detector was broken, Principal Alan Goodwin said. Security found the faulty detector and called for repairs.

Students crowded under awnings near the front of the school in the middle of the pouring rain.

“We were able to figure that out quickly that we didn’t have to force kids away from the building,” Goodwin said. “If it was a real fire, they couldn’t have stood under any awnings.”

The student was looking for a member of the Best Buddies during the drill and attempted to find him by going back into the building. Pascali would not let him back in, due to safety codes.

The boy struggled and was pinned to the ground by the officer, Goodwin said.

Knowing the student’s intentions were good, Pascali did not arrest the student. Pascali instead took him for a ride to calm down. The student later returned to school and apologized for his actions, Goodwin said.