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McMaster: S.C. school drug raid was legal
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/3487575/detail.html ^

Posted on 07/03/2004 3:15:07 PM PDT by Stew Padasso

McMaster: S.C. school drug raid was legal

CHARLESTON, S.C. - No criminal charges will be filed against Goose Creek police officers who drew guns during a "grossly inappropriate" search for drugs at Stratford High School, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster said Thursday.

"There is no evidence of any degree of criminal intent on behalf of the police officers or school personnel; thus a criminal prosecution would not be appropriate," McMaster said.

The Nov. 5 raid drew national attention after a videotape aired nationwide showed students being ordered to the floor and a drug dog prowling the hall. No drugs were found and no arrests were made in the sweep, which has spawned two civil lawsuits.

McMaster began investigating the sweep after a local prosecutor asked the Attorney General's office to intervene.

The state's chief prosecutor said school officials had "probable cause" to conduct a search for drugs but criticized police officers' decision to draw weapons during the search. McMaster said taking guns from holsters was a highly dangerous tactic that could have been deadly.

"Such raid tactics are well suited for a crack house but not a school house," he said.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: South Carolina
KEYWORDS: drugwar; leo; wod; wodlist
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To: robertpaulsen; tpaine; All

This from the guy who thinks that students hawking a few pills in an upscale high school are going to get in a gun battle with undercover cops.


61 posted on 07/05/2004 11:04:08 AM PDT by Long Cut (The Constitution...the NATOPS of America!)
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To: Long Cut
"This from the guy who thinks that students hawking a few pills in an upscale high school are going to get in a gun battle with undercover cops."

Missed this part?

" (Principal) McCrackin, who has two children at the school, said the problem mostly stems from students who transferred into the school this year from out of state.

Going to? I never said that. Might have? Sure. The Friday before the raid, one student threatened another with a weapon.

Oops. You probably missed that, also.

62 posted on 07/05/2004 11:14:02 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: robertpaulsen
No, you've repeated it enough. Was the student expelled? Was the incident drug-related, or did you manufacture that along with the rest of your fantasy?

And how in the WORLD do you come to the conclusion that a handful of students breaking the law warrants the risk of the lives of, and the terrorization of, ALL of them?

Get a clue...those dogs could easily have decided to take a bite out of an innocent student, or some itchy-fingered cop might have ventilated one. As it was, they probably destroyed any trust the students might have had in their Constitutional liberties being protected.

You'd have probably still said it was "worth it".

63 posted on 07/05/2004 11:26:19 AM PDT by Long Cut (The Constitution...the NATOPS of America!)
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To: Long Cut
"And how in the WORLD do you come to the conclusion that a handful of students breaking the law warrants the risk of the lives of, and the terrorization of, ALL of them?"

Well, at least you didn't say they were pistol whipped.

The raid involved 107 students out of 2,760. As to terrorized, how many students in that school were terrorized by the drug dealing gang? Do you care?

64 posted on 07/05/2004 12:04:38 PM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: Long Cut
"As it was, they probably destroyed any trust the students might have had in their Constitutional liberties being protected."

That's the only good aspect of this outrage - that young people are disabused of the Party line - 'It's for the children'.

65 posted on 07/05/2004 12:24:09 PM PDT by headsonpikes (Spirit of '76 bttt!)
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To: robertpaulsen; All
"Several weeks ago, a student was arrested trying to pass out between 200 and 300 prescription pills, he said. After school ended Friday, one student threatened another and claimed to have a weapon."

This constitutes a "drug gang" to you? Oh, and I DID miss the part before about the "weapon"...the student only CLAIMED to have one, none is specified to have been found, and its type was never specified. So much for your breast-beating on that one.

No proof of any kind for any of the rest of the principal's claims is given. Oh, and they spoke of "ten students who come in on early busses". If they were some kind of "drug gang", why were they not stopped and rousted in the bus, thus preserving the safety of the rest of the students? Oh, that's right...they needed to "teach that lesson" to the rest.

I note that no one has claimed that students were terrorizing each other. However, the police gave them a "lesson" in how the pros do it.

Your hysteria and irrationality is showing in neon, RP.

66 posted on 07/05/2004 12:25:14 PM PDT by Long Cut (The Constitution...the NATOPS of America!)
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To: robertpaulsen
So you think "criminal investigation of the police" and "civil suits filed" and "no drugs found" is better? Looks like you need to pee in a cup yourself. Those of us who don't depend on the government to keep us safe and are not the government's apologists are laughing at you, communist. You seem so enamored of kgb tactics, I'll bet you are a Soviet. Why don't you go pray to the UN, BATFBoy?

Only a namby-pampby, bleeding heart, let-the-kids-run-the-schools liberal could post those two sentences together with a straight face.

67 posted on 07/05/2004 2:33:02 PM PDT by Salo
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Comment #68 Removed by Moderator

To: tpaine
By the way, are you still trying to work up the nerve to tell us about your own personal stake in the WOD's? RP never met a JBT he didn't love ... Seig Heil RP ...good to see you again TP
69 posted on 07/05/2004 2:37:46 PM PDT by clamper1797 (This Vietnam Vet ain't Fonda Kerry)
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To: jmc813
"90% of FReepers are against you on this."

I meant to ask you. What percentage of the 90% are for the legalization of marijuana? 99%?

70 posted on 07/05/2004 3:10:32 PM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: clamper1797

I suspect paulsen doesn't have any real nerve. Sad little fella.


Good to hear from you clamper.
--- When's the next meeting at Malloys?


71 posted on 07/05/2004 3:23:54 PM PDT by tpaine (The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being" -- Solzhenitsyn.)
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To: GladesGuru

Just last week the ninja warriors showed up at a friends house with a no knock warrant and busted her door down...her husband was at work and only she and 2 yr daughter at home...they were wearing black clothes and black masks and everything...

then discovered they were 4 houses wrong...apologized (without removing the mask) and said you can complain if you want but this is legal and it won't do you any good" and left.

She is scared to death now. too bad there is no video so her word against theirs.

I would advise everyone to get a wireless video cam setup just for the ninja warriors.


72 posted on 07/05/2004 3:31:09 PM PDT by cajun-jack
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To: tpaine

Not till next year Jan ...There are other clamper functions a little sooner that that though


73 posted on 07/05/2004 4:02:01 PM PDT by clamper1797 (This Vietnam Vet ain't Fonda Kerry)
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To: robertpaulsen; tpaine; Salo; All
RP's post # 18 has this: " After school ended Friday, one student threatened another and claimed to have a weapon." Note, no weapon was found, and the type unspecified.

Next we have RP's post #51, in which he states, "A student threatened another with a weapon".

He repeats this again in the post I'm pinging to now: "The Friday before the raid, one student threatened another with a weapon." Note again, no relationship to any "drug gangs" is specified, even in his own article.

So, RP, now that we've caught you in a lie, or at the very least a deliberate misstatement of the facts with a bit of spin on the backside, anything ELSE you should be retracting?

74 posted on 07/05/2004 5:43:13 PM PDT by Long Cut (The Constitution...the NATOPS of America!)
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To: jmc813

Ping to #74. RP has a bit of trouble with truth and facts, it would seem.


75 posted on 07/05/2004 5:45:33 PM PDT by Long Cut (The Constitution...the NATOPS of America!)
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To: robertpaulsen; SouthernFreebird
What if that had been your children being video recorded buying drugs from other students in that very same hallway?

What video records? McCraken's "reasonable paranoia" was that becuse he couldn't see it being done on camera, this drug dealing must be happening out of camera range, so he called in the JBTs to do a body search of everyone.

Hey, if they aren't doing anything wrong they shouldn't complain about being rousted. < /copsucker logic>

76 posted on 07/05/2004 7:05:05 PM PDT by Oztrich Boy (/"Despise not the jester. Often he is the only one speaking the truth")
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To: Salo; clamper1797

Y'all are getting a little carried away with the personal attacks IMO.


77 posted on 07/05/2004 10:52:00 PM PDT by jmc813 (Help save a life - www.marrow.org)
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To: jmc813
I don't take kindly or tolerate anyone - especially a jackboot licker - referring to me as a namby pamby liberal. He can offer Full Lewinskies at his FOP chapter on a daily basis for all I care: I know the police are civil servants and were out of line to pull guns in a school on unarmed children. No drugs were found, no weapons were found - no need for the guns being drawn.
78 posted on 07/06/2004 5:36:19 AM PDT by Salo
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To: Long Cut
"So, RP, now that we've caught you in a lie"

You "caught" me in squat.

Based on published stories, I'm telling you the information that school officials and the police had prior to the raid. Their resultant actions were based on that information.

You have a problem with that, take it to your priest.

79 posted on 07/06/2004 11:25:55 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: Oztrich Boy
"he couldn't see it being done on camera"

What are you talking about? He saw it being done on camera and so did the police. They just couldn't tell exactly who.

"so he called in the JBTs to do a body search of everyone."

That specific hallway at that specific time was selected on pupose. There were only 107 students involved (out of a total school population of 2,760 students) and no individuals were searched.

Everything you posted was a lie.

80 posted on 07/06/2004 11:34:40 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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