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Police Drugraid in a school...

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1750/a06.html?397

Quote:

MIDLANDS SCHOOLS REACT TO DRUG RAID

Search At Goose Creek's Stratford High Has Local Officials Feeling 'Nauseous'

Midlands school officials are taking note of last week's dramatic drug sweep at Goose Creek's Stratford High, where officers charged into school with guns drawn, frightening students and infuriating parents.

The nationally televised footage of children cowering on the hallway floor made Lexington 3 spokeswoman Judy Turner Fox feel "nauseous."

"I'm sure it was very emotional for the students, for the parents and for the faculty," she said. " ... That is not a scenario that any of us ever wishes to be involved in."

But Turner Fox and other local school officials are hesitant to say a Goose Creek-like search could never happen in the Midlands.

Fourteen officers and one canine unit responded to a tip of drug use at Stratford High. Law enforcement didn't find any drugs or weapons.

Most local districts use drug-sniffing dogs to do unannounced searches throughout the school year, regardless of whether they've received a tip.

"We do it to be proactive and send a message that we don't tolerate drugs," Lexington 2 spokeswoman Venus Holland said. "It's a visibility issue."

Local school officials try to minimize disruption by evacuating students first. They say they would expect law enforcement to respond with weapons drawn only if there was an imminent threat, such as a hostage situation.

"There is an appropriate way to do this and an inappropriate way," Lexington-Richland 5 spokesman Buddy Price said. "We feel like the procedures we have in place are appropriate and working."

Holland said there could be other factors in the Goose Creek situation that the public doesn't know about, such as weapons or gang involvement.

"I hate to second-guess Goose Creek. It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback," she said.Ridge View High parent Ann Humphries was stunned when she saw the Goose Creek scene.

"That was extremely frightening," she said. "To see it on video was graphically shocking."

Humphries said she doesn't want to judge law enforcement's actions since she wasn't there, but said she would hate to see such a dramatic display of force in her child's school.

"A better approach would have been more low-key because that could panic an entire school and community," she said.

Local districts say they strive for a more quiet approach.

For instance, Richland 2 has drug-sniffing dogs scour hallways when students are in class. The students are then called into the hallway so the dogs can check classrooms.

If the dogs find something in a locker or book bag, that student is called to the office.

"We want to minimize disruption," district spokesman Ken Blackstone said.

Blackstone said school resource officers also help because they get to know students personally and know how to best handle the situation in school."We don't ever want to infringe upon someone's rights unnecessarily, but you have to balance that with safety," Blackstone said.

I think this could have been more accepted if they were a little more quiet in the search. This kind of shit could be traumatizing.

Follow-up Story:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1744/a05.html?397

Quote:

STATE INVESTIGATES SCHOOL DRUG SWEEP

SLED To Determine If Police Misconduct Involved

GOOSE CREEK ( AP ) -- State police are investigating why officers charged into a crowded high school hallway with guns drawn in a drug sweep.

Videotape from Stratford High School surveillance cameras showed students sitting on the floor Wednesday while officers with guns drawn looked for drugs.

Charleston-area prosecutor Ralph Hoisington asked the State Law Enforcement Division to look into possible police misconduct in the operation. He called for the probe Friday after consulting with Berkeley County Sheriff Wayne DeWitt.

No drugs were found in the early-morning sweep that included 14 officers and one drug dog. Some students were cuffed during the raid.

"I don't think there's anything wrong at all with law enforcement addressing a problem in a high school, but I have serious concerns about the need for restraining students and drawing weapons," Hoisington said. "I don't want to send my child to a school and find out guns are drawn on them. I certainly don't want them hog-tied as part of a sweeping investigation."

The only charges stemming from Wednesday's raid involved a ninth-grader who was charged with filing a false police report after she said an officer shoved her to the ground during the search, Goose Creek police Lt. Dave Aarons said.

Principal George McCrackin said he, other school officials and the girl's parent reviewed video surveillance tapes and determined she wasn't even in that hall at the time.

McCrackin said he had talked with police about what he called a growing drug problem at the school.

"Within the last three weeks, there's been an influx of drug activity," he said. "I've been in this business for 34 years, and I've never seen the amount of activity we've experienced recently."

Aarons said the guns were guns were drawn as "a matter of officer safety."

"I don't think it was an overreaction," he said. "Anytime you have qualified information regarding drugs and large amounts of money, there's a reasonable assumption weapons are involved."

Police handcuffed students who failed to "respond to repeated police instruction," Aarons said.

The scene captured on the school video surveillance cameras was played much of the day on national news channels.

"I'm absolutely outraged," said Danny Partin, whose stepson attends Stratford but was not in the hallway during the search. "This is supposed to be a free country, not a police state."

Parent Nathaniel Ody went to the police department Friday afternoon to file a complaint. He said his son, a senior basketball player, was pulled from another part of the school Wednesday and placed in the hallway in restraints. He claims his son was compliant but was handcuffed anyway.

"I'm appalled," he said. "To just take a bunch of innocent kids and put them in restraints, and then not even find anything, is ridiculous."

Sweeps happen periodically at high schools, at principals' request, but this is the first time restraints were used, said Dave Barrow, supervisor for Berkeley County high schools.

"We understand students, parents and community concerns about this particular search," Barrow said.

Some area residents sympathized with the officers. "I'm sure students were frightened, but the harm they're in with drug dealers is far greater than the police coming in," said Goose Creek resident Judy Watkins. "I trust them to do what's right. I appreciate what they did."

Graham Boyd, director of the drug policy project for the American Civil Liberties Union, says the search was illegal. "You absolutely cannot bring police with guns drawn into a school," Boyd said.

Boyd said police have to have individual students suspected of drug activity, then any action taken must target those suspects. He said investigators should have called individual suspected students to the principal's office to check their bags for drugs.

I actually think this is the earlier story, but oh well. I'm not changing them.

Why even bother with the dogs? Just go in with guns blazing, and shoot all those evil drug-snorting children! Hell, nuke the school from orbit. Its the only way to be sure that any and every ounce of drug fiend flesh has been vaporized!

/me turns down the sarcasm faucet a few turns

Seriously now, what kind of a genius is this Buddy Price? (and who names their kid Buddy? geez..) A real mental giant, that one.

"We feel like the procedures we have in place are appropriate and working."

Yea, working in creating a generation of kids who have been taught that society is an evil police state, and that adults are out to get them. They will seek shelter and support in their friendly neighborhood gangs, and the drugs which the very mention of can trigger an extreme foaming-at-the-mouth response from police.

You know, I really hope someone whispers something about Buddy's kid and drugs, and they get their pretty little door kicked down, and their daddy gets handcuffed, and their mommy gets hit with a nightstick, and everyone get eaten alive by the drug dogs. These procedures are appropriate, and are working. See, I can be reasonable too! :)

As a parent, I sure as hell would be pissed if this happened where my kids went to school. As for these people...

Quote:

Some area residents sympathized with the officers. "I'm sure students were frightened, but the harm they're in with drug dealers is far greater than the police coming in," said Goose Creek resident Judy Watkins. "I trust them to do what's right. I appreciate what they did."

Yeah, well I wonder how they'd feel about it if the police burst into their places of employment and subjected them to the same treatment.

Sounds fine by me...it will definitely leave an impact and give those kids a reminder of what can and will happen if they are doing drugs or worse, selling drugs.

anyone have a link to that video?

local middleschool in my county....9 7thgraders busted for having a heroin and PCP dealing ring...7TH GRADERS!!!

What horrid bullshit. You want to do a drug sweep? Fine. You get a dog or two and you walk the school while the kids are in class, not busting into classrooms with your guns out. I totally agree with Nefir here, they're learning that the world really IS as nasty as they think it is, the cops really ARE the bunch of pig bastards they think they are, and the only way to escape is to get with other people who are like-minded, i.e. gangs.

Both Kaos and analog make some good points.
Imagine that!

I think that this stunt was over the top, going in with guns and shit. I saw the video on the news, a bunch of cops yelling and pointing weapons a kids. Your war on drugs is out of control...can't you see that? How will this action help kids? I just don't see the merit of pulling a stunt like this.

I agree with splck. Makes me all the happier that I AM CANADIAN.

Pass me a spliff & a beer.

I find it weird.. I know for a fact that drugs were sold in my highschool.. It was just common knowledge that someone could hook you up. We had some occasional things, but they just brought in the dogs... effective and kept things quiet No need for a drug raid.

When I first read this I was angered. This is in the United States of America, not Nazi Germany. These are sworn Police Officers, not Gestapo Schutzstaffel.

Then, after I calmed down a bit, I thought that since they were acting on a "tip", perhaps they were operating under the belief that they would possibly encounter armed resistance. That is, after all, not out of the realm of possibility.

Then, I grew angry again as I realized that if the police even suspected that the "bust" might turn south; then they had absolutely NO business conducting the raid on school property, during school hours. I, for one, don't want to see drugs in school, but this was not a violent crime. They were not defusing a hostile situation. Time was on thier side. They had time to gather proper intelligence (not just a tip), and formulate an appropriate response.

Heads (plural intended) need to roll over this. If we allow this type of response from the authorities to go unchecked, then we deserve every damn thing we get.

I've been on the other end of this when I was in college. I was living in my frat house over the Christmas holiday (there were 6 or 7 of us staying in the house). Someone driving by saw the lights on and called the cops thinking there was a burglary going on. Even though we had filed the proper paperwork with the university and the local police to let them know people would be in the house, they rushed in with guns drawn, cuffed us and had us on the floor. It took me about 20 minutes to convince them that they were wrong. There was never any apology from them. Instead they told us they thought it was our fault for not making it more clear that we lived there (not sure how we were supposed to do that).

I have a feeling it'll be some time before drugs are sold in that school again. If I met a police officer, gun drawn, with a snarl on his face, asking me if I had drugs on me then proceeding to pat me down in my classroom when I was 14 or 15 it certainly would have changed my mind about whether i could get away with selling drugs in school.

We had a quiet drug raid when I was still in highschool where the police brought in dogs but no guns.

The problems with this were: The raid occured within a few weeks of columbine.

The vice principal came over the loudspeaker telling students to clear the halls post haste and for the teachers to lock their doors.

The teachers themselves had no idea what the hell was going on.

The end result was four or five kids arrested for drugs, the rest of the kids scared silly cause we all thought there were a dozen or so fatigued, gun carrying maniacs stalking up the halls bent on our destruction.

Also one teacher dove under his desk and hid.

I think this whole drug war has gotten out of control. I am shocked that the level of police incompetence in htis case has been so elevated. Sure, there was obviously an issue at the school or the police never would have taken the time to go over and cause the ruckus they did. It could have been handled in a far more secure manner, and a far more safe manner than they did. The drugs are the least of these kids worries when they have a gun pointed at their head.

Quote:

Originally posted by thejoker130
Also one teacher dove under his desk and hid.

Oh please tell me that was an embelishment. If not, then I will assume that he, at the very least, saw to the safety of the kids in his classroom first?

Quote:

Originally posted by Bill O'Rights
Oh please tell me that was an embelishment. If not, then I will assume that he, at the very least, saw to the safety of the kids in his classroom first?

Nope, no embelishment. And in answer to the second question, the second after the announcement came on he ran and closed the door not about to let anybody in so any student out in the hall was shit outta luck

Although this will probably have lasting affect on keeping drug-sales out of this school, they were WAY over the top. This hardly sounds like appropriate police procedure.

Just say no.

I know a kid who graduated from this school. He says there is a big group of students that deal drugs in the school and the raid was from a tip. As far as the guns, no guns were pointed at anyone and if you are doing a raid, you have to be prepared for things to go south. (no pun intended, Stratford is in Berkley County, SC. Suburb of Charleston.)

Quote:

Originally posted by bainatl
I know a kid who graduated from this school. He says there is a big group of students that deal drugs in the school and the raid was from a tip. As far as the guns, no guns were pointed at anyone and if you are doing a raid, you have to be prepared for things to go south. (no pun intended, Stratford is in Berkley County, SC. Suburb of Charleston.)

I still think raiding a school in this way is uncalled for. The video I saw sure looked like they were pointing guns at the students. I have no problem bringing a dog in to find the stuff, but this method is fucked up. IMO;)

Quote:

Originally posted by ARTelevision
Both Kaos and analog make some good points.
Imagine that!

I do try my best :D

I saw the video and was deeply appauled. I swear, if my kids had been in that school and had some lame local cop pointing a gun at his head, I wouldn't rest until heads rolled. I would protest. I would sue. I would demand the principal and the police chief were fired (at the very least the principal).

Guns drawn, pointing at kid's heads. How is this acceptable? Did anyone see the wack-job principal with his dozen tv security monitor screens huddled in his office. The guy is a nut! He will hopefully be gone.

Quote:

Originally posted by bainatl
...if you are doing a raid, you have to be prepared for things to go south.

Agreed. To a point. First, let me state, for the record, that I am most definately not anti-cop. I have a background in law enforcement and am very much aware that these things can turn sour at the bat of an eye. But, as I've stated before, if the police even suspected that the "bust" might turn south; then they had absolutely NO business conducting the raid on school property, during school hours. They were not defusing a hostile situation. Time was on thier side. They had time to gather proper intelligence (not just a tip), and formulate an appropriate response. There is a time and a place for this type of operation, and a "hard entry" in a school building filled with children is most definately NOT the time nor the place. The first duty of any police officer is protection of the innocent. This, to me, is a complete failure of that primary duty.

some school around here brought dogs to sniff for drugs