ALBANY — Parents at an Albany middle school are unhappy their 12-year-old son was interviewed by police without their permission, but both the school and the Albany Police Department say permission isn’t required in many instances.

Administrators at Calapooia Middle School say, however, that school policy wasn’t followed when a detective recently interviewed the boy without the parents first being notified by the school.

The boy’s mother, Kerri Evans, told the Albany Democrat-Herald her son was labeled as a suspect in a May incident involving a neighborhood child who doesn’t attend Calapooia. She said she worked the situation out with the other child’s mother, and knew nothing of a police investigation until a detective showed up at her door Sept. 18.

The detective told Evans he had talked with her son alone at school earlier that day, the mother said, adding she complained to police while her husband phoned the school.

“It bothers me the way this was approached. They just went and pulled him from class. All the teachers, the vice principal, know what’s going on; whether they know the exact reason or not, they know it’s something serious,” Evans said. “All his friends are like, ‘Dude, are you going to juvie?’”

Evans said she’s angry she and her husband weren’t given an opportunity attend the interview with their son. She said the detective recited the Miranda rights to the boy, letting him know he could contact an attorney, but she isn’t convinced a 12-year-old who didn’t have anyone else in the room to talk to would really understand.

Principal Pat Weidmann said school district policy and Calapooia’s student handbook state the district will first attempt to notify the student’s parent or guardian, as a courtesy, in such cases. If no one can be reached, a reasonable attempt should be made to notify the family as soon as possible after an interview.

In either case, a building administrator is supposed to be present at such interviews, and maintain a written record of what is said, unless the parents ask the official not to attend.

Weidmann said he was not in the building and the vice principal was on recess duty. A new staff secretary let the detective in that day.

Capt. Eric Carter of the Albany Police Department said he didn’t know the circumstances of the case surrounding Evans’ son nor say why officers waited four months to talk to him, or why they chose to do it at school.