Oregon Judges Finds School Negligent for Allowing Wired Glass in Non-Compliant Application

Tyler Boatwright, the 15-year-old from Dallas, Ore., accused of committing third-degree assault when he pushed someone's head through a wired glass window, was found not guilty. Greg Abel, founder of Advocates for Safe Glass, testified in Boatwright's favor, saying if the proper glass had been used in the window application the victim would not have sustained the severe injuries that he did. The judge overseeing the case reviewed a variety of records and paperwork as evidence, including letters from the Consumer Products Safety Commission, defining the allowable criteria for the wired glass exemption to apply.

"The Judge ruled that there was no intention on his [Boatwright's] part because he would have made the same assumption that wired glass was stronger and would not break with unsafe characteristics," says Abel.

Able told USGNN.com/USGlass magazine that the judge also reviewed whether the Oregon building code permitted the use of wired glass in that particular type of application and found that it does not and has not since the 2003 code change.

"The judge found that the school was negligent in allowing non-safety glazing that was not in compliance with the federal safety glazing standards; the wired glass should not have been there," says Abel.

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