TP controversy envelops Granada Hills baseball team

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Granada Hills Charter High School, known for its high test scores and national champion academic decathlon teams, is dealing with a TP (toilet paper) controversy.

LAPD Detective Ray Webb confirmed that he held a meeting Wednesday morning with parents, players and coaches of the school’s baseball team to discuss alleged incidents involving the TP’ing of players’ homes.

“We’re trying to stop it,” Webb said.

He said he was trying to determine what “actually took place” and whether a crime has been committed. He said Coach Steve Thompson “was not aware of what’s happening.”

He said complaints had come from parents.

According to a person who attended the meeting, Webb said a parent had been warned about a pending TP incident and retaliated by using a paintball gun against the alleged perpetrators. TP’ing dates back many years, but its definition also has changed and escalated into possibly serious vandalism, from throwing eggs to leaving behind graffiti.

Messages left for Brian Bauer, executive director of Granada Hills High, were not returned on Tuesday or Wednesday. The school is investigating.

Webb said the parents “want the kids to stop.”

Thompson, who coached Milwaukee Brewers all-star Ryan Braun at Granada Hills, is also waiting to hear what’s been going on.

There could be lots of running in store for players in the coming weeks, since some apparently have too much free time.

-- Eric Sondheimer