# Philadelphia School Officer Arrested in Abduction Attempt



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*Story by nbc10.com*

A Philadelphia School District police officer assigned to protect students was instead under arrest Sunday for allegedly trying to abduct a teen in West Philadelphia. 
Police arrested 52-year-old John Hinton, who was still wearing his uniform Sunday morning. 
The district plans on firing him immediately, and the alleged victim's family wants safety assurances. 
Lateefah Adams, a 15-year-old honors student, said she noticed a large man in a police uniform staring at her while waiting for a bus at 48th and Parrish streets. 
"He comes up behind me, he grabs me. He's like, 'Come on, you're coming with me.' And I was like, no, no, no," Lateefah said, adding that she was creeped-out and was scared for her life. 
She bravely broke away and ran home to call cops. 
Within minutes, police arrested the off-duty veteran police officer, who now faces felony attempted abduction charges. 
"I have the chills, the goosebumps right now. I am disgusted. The more I sit here and think about it, I'm disgusted," said Ilsa Spurill, Lateefah's mother. 







Spurill wants to know how school administrators didn't know about Hinton's alleged past. Sources say was charged with assault 30 years ago but was never convicted, and his record was expunged. 
School officials said when the officer was hired 11 years ago, they did a full background check and no red flags came up. 
"This action is not reflective of the quality of our school police. But, clearly, we take this very seriously," said district CEO Paul Vallas. "We will be moving to terminate him. He's already been suspended without pay, and obviously termination is the least of his problems." 







"You never think it's going to happen to you," said Lateefah. "I'm just so happy I got away." 
NBC 10's Alix Hayes reported that Hinton did not have daily contact with students as an overnight security detail officer.

Copyright 2006 by NBC10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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