Irate Ferguson Elementary School Parent Arrested

A parent who reportedly became irate after being asked to show identification to check-out her student at Ferguson Elementary School in Duluth on Good Friday was arrested by a Gwinnett County school resource officer, according to a Gwinnett County Public Schools spokesman.

The school went into lockdown at noon, said Jorge Quintana, director of media relations for Gwinnett County Public Schools. The lockdown was lifted about 2:20 p.m. with regular school dismissal at 3:20 p.m., Quintana reported. The school resource officer charged the parent, identified as Tamika Dena Wolterink, with disruption of public schools and terroristic threats, he said.

“The parent became irate after school officials asked her to show identification while trying to check-out her student, which is standard procedure for the safety of our students. She refused to show identification,” Quintana said. “She went outside and called 911 and made some kind of comment on the phone that caused the Gwinnett County Police Department to respond,” he said.

Gwinnett County Police spokesman Cpl. Jake Smith confirmed that the department assisted with security and dispatched its bomb squad to the school. No bomb was found, Quintana said.

According to a letter being sent home to parents about the incident by Ferguson Elementary Principal Joe Ahrens, Gwinnett County Police responded to the school campus after the woman made a threatening comment on the telephone during her 911 call. “The school went into immediate lockdown,” Ahrens said. “Once we were given the all-clear from the police we were able to finish our school day and dismiss students following our normal procedures,” he said.

Ferguson Elementary School is located in the GCPS Meadowcreek Cluster in unincorporated Duluth.