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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Westfield Teacher/Coach Arrested, Skating On Thin Ice

A Westfield elementary school teacher and ice hockey coach was "checked" by Westfield's "thin blue line" on Wednesday.

Brendan Hickey, a fourth grade teacher at Westfield's McKinley Elementary School was arrested on Wednesday by Westfield Police after a motor vehicle stop was made on E. Broad St. 

Hickey, the head coach of the Westfield High School Ice Hockey Team and the girls Lacrosse Teams, was charged with possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana.

Kim Schumacher, the Westfield Education Association President had no comment on the issue.

17 comments:

  1. This is something that should NOT be posted on this Blog! I understand your cause, but potentially ruining the reputation of a fine educator is not fair. Innocent until proven guilty.

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  2. Why should it not be posted on this blog? It was posted on Westfield Patch before it was posted here. It is also public record. I will assume that you contacted the editors of Westfield Patch and made the same request to have them not report on it? The reputation of an educator is not what we are reporting on. We reported on an arrest of a suspect. You are correct, he is innocent until proven guilty

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  3. Dear Anonymous,

    The educator you are defending put himself into a position to have his reputation questioned by getting himself arrested. Don't shift the blame. He might be innocent until proven guilty but where there is smoke, there is fire. Anonymous, are you a teacher?

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  4. A Westfield High School teacher was arrested on the same charge in Scotch Plains or Fanwood earlier this year. Par for the course I believe. Dolan has no problem with it, why should we?

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  5. It might be the first time he got caught but something tells me it isn't the first time he has had the stuff.

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  6. Don't student athletes have to sign an agreement that they will not uase drugs or alcohol with the consequences being thrown off a team? What kind of example is the coach setting for his players? If he is found guilty he should be fired and kept from teaching in any classroom or from coaching any kids.

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  7. they want budget cuts well i guess the teacher had to make some extra money to support his habit

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  8. Oh come on! Is this typical of the pressing issues facing Westfield? Maybe, later, we can all gather with torches and pitchforks and blame Mr. Hickey for all our woes! Who's with me?

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  9. The Fact of The Matter does not blame Mr. Hickey for anyone's woes, only his own. We will gladly stand by you and press for the truth and the transparency of issues facing Westfield. The fact is, this Westfield teacher/coach, a role model to some, was arrested for possession of a controlled dangerous substance. The possession of marijuana, is to blame for Mr. Hickey's current woes. The pressing issue is that a teacher/coach trusted with the supervision and education of Westfield children and teenagers has been arrested for violating a law and may be subject to further disciplinary action by his employer as a result of his own actions if found guilty. The Fact of The Matter considers drug use and/or possession by a Westfield Elementary School Teacher a pressing issue. To minimize this incident is to condone the actions of the individual and make excuses in his defense.

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  10. who is this whs teacher you speak of

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  11. The first person to post here calls this teacher a fine educator. Of what, how to roll a joint! A pot head teacher in a fouth grade classroom is like having Heidi Fleiss teach my kid sex ed. in health class. I'll pass.

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  12. Maybe teacher just like most state employees should have random drug testing so this wont happen. Or wait maybe we should give them most of the tax revenue and tenure so they can slack off and get stoned. This guy if found guilty should not be able to coach or your saying to the student athlete its ok.He is a role model so if nothing happens to this guy what does this say to our kids that its ok just dont get caught.

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  13. And to think, the DARE program was canceled in Westfield. See what happens when the inmates run the prison. Bring back DARE, or else our kids will have to rely on a pothead teacher to instruct them to "just say no". I guess he will teach them to say, "just say yes if you don't get caught". My kids loved Officer Moore and the DARE program.

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  14. Wow 50 grams - someone means business. It's a shame because the kids have made nice comments about him but carrying around 50 grams of marijuana I can't condone that especially when you are teaching the young minds of tomorrow. We are not talking about a slacker here but a role model of sorts. I am all for innocent until proven guilty but who is he going to blame this one on his dog? No one is blaming Mr. Hickey for our woes, he did this to himself and like every one else out there if you break the law you have to suffer the consequences.

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  15. Oh My god people, do a drug test and MOVE ON!
    This DRUG is against the LAW~! I do not want my kids around a criminal!

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  16. DARE has been proven to be ineffective.

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  17. Brandon Hickey was the best lacrosse coach I have ever had (WHS Boys JV). He is an inspiration to student athletes and is a tremendous asset to Westfield Public Schools. Anyone who thinks Brandon Hickey should loose his job because of a drug offense should take a close look/drug test other WHS teachers and coaches.

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