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.
ping
"Probable cause" ? ? ?
So said the State's Lawyer-In-Chief. What a jury will say when parents sue is quite another thing. During discovery, the whole array of dirty details of this ill-advised, and grossly mis-managed "raid" will come out.
It is high time we reined in such abuses before we have a population accustomed to being treated like citizens of some Banana Republic, or, worse yet, some "turd world" nation ala the Middle East.
Yeah, yeah, I know that "citizen acclimation to police state tactics" is the real agenda, but we must hope that some parent is willing to sue.
"Citing the peculiarities associated with searches on school grounds, the Court abandoned its requirement that searches be conducted only when a "probable cause" exists that an individual has violated the law. The Court used a less strict standard of "reasonableness" to conclude that the search did not violate the Constitution."
-- New Jersey v. T.L.O. 469 U.S. 325 (1985)
If that had been my children cowering on the floor while some jackbooted thug held a gun on them I'd be sueing the pants off every single person who allowed it. And that principle should have been run outta town.
They are no longer Public Servants,
They are a new Class all to themselves, They are Law Enforcement.
We are too stooopid to be allowed Freedom of movement, Freedom of association, nor do we have the "Right" to keep and bear arms, protecting our own property is now illegal, so buckle up and "Dial 911" and the Tax Collector will be right over to make sure you don't offend the purp.
Remember Clickit or Ticket, and your Free complete Vehicle search and Inspection with every pullover.
When you get your Ticket remember they are just doing us a favor and keeping us safe from ourselves.
Sorry about the mini rant, LE is my hot button
I bet you would have sued the school and the principal for not doing something about the drug problem.
What about he gestapo's blatant abuse of the students constitutional rights?
Hmmm. Since it's 'reasonable' to assume that drugs are probably on every high school campus in America, then we ought to be gearing up every SWAT team in the nation to begin sweeps, huh?
High School: Where you have to pee in a cup in order to join the Chess Club, and where you get to sprawl yourself prone on the concrete while the gun-wielding cops and barking drug dogs have their way with you.
Welcome to 21st century Public Education in Amerika.
I bet you would have sued the school and the principal for not doing something about the drug problem.
I'll bet You that the Children that have Pi$$ Poor Parents most certainly would try to sue, the same ones that take "Crazy Money" from the Government (A.D.D.) the same ones that are on welfare (3 Generations) etc. because they think like you that Government is the solution.
Better Parents would want someones HEAD and maybe a little one on one and try and figure out a way to reign in swelled head LE.
But that is just my opinion and observations
TT
First of all my children don't use or buy drugs thats why I would be hopping mad that my law abiding children would be subjected to being treated like a dangerous criminal.
Go after the law breakers, if there even were any which I doubt since no drugs were FOUND!
I heard from a niece in Charleston that Jesse Jackson had gone down to put his nose into this. They told him he wasn't wanted. Nothing on the news, however.
The control freak swat team wannabee high school principal lost his job over this. I am glad they did not go after the cops. They followed orders, misguided orders, but not illegal orders. Hopefully its a lesson learned for all. The Goose Creek school district will have to raise taxes when the lawsuits are done. The educators dont care, the citizens pay for it.
I live in Goose Creek - right down the street from Stratford HS: I wish McMaster *had* gone after the cops. These idiots (GCPD) make the Waffen SS look like Cub Scouts. A few years ago, a councilman (Sal Gandolpho) announced he was running for mayor, so his son was arrested for murder. The charges were dropped when the councilman dropped out of the mayoral race.
You should have seen GC after this made news - every cop on the force was out writing tickets (their normal vocation and what they are good at) to show everyone they were still in charge. I'll bet they feel "vindicated" now. If only McMaster had said "if stupidity were a crime, these morons would be on death row" and thrown a few of the higher-ups to the wolves....
Oh well...as long as we are safe from all of the drugs they found....oh...wait....
Maybe you're not familiar with the incident.
"Story last updated at 7:48 a.m. Friday, November 7, 2003
Police fail to find drugs in Stratford High raid
BY SEANNA ADCOX
Of The Post and Courier Staff
GOOSE CREEK--Reports of drug deals at Stratford High School led to an early-morning police raid this week in which about 15 officers cordoned off the main hallway to search for marijuana. Several drew their guns but did not use force, police said.
Officers did not arrest anyone during the lockdown at 6:40 a.m. Wednesday.
A police dog sniffed residue on 12 book bags but found no drugs, said Lt. Dave Aarons of the Goose Creek Police Department.
"Several officers did unholster their weapons in a tactical law enforcement approach," he said. "There was no force whatsoever. Everyone was very compliant."
Officers charged a ninth-grader Wednesday afternoon with filing a false police report. The juvenile said an officer shoved her to the ground during the search, 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 went to Aarons on Monday with suspicions about marijuana exchanges at the school, based on camera recordings and reports from students and teachers.
"Within the last three weeks, there's been an influx of drug activity. I've been in this business for 34 years, and I've never seen the amount of activity we've experienced recently," said McCrackin, who has been principal at the school since it opened in 1983.
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.
"We're not going to tolerate it," McCrackin said. "We have to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff."Aarons said he watched school surveillance tapes from four days that showed students congregating under cameras, periodically walking into a bathroom with different students and coming out moments later.
The suspected group of about 10 students comes to school in early buses. Tapes show a network of lookouts, Aarons and McCrackin said.
"They're pretty knowledgeable in terms of where to stand. They know where the cameras are. If they stand directly under them, the cameras don't look directly down," Aarons said. "Faculty can view the students from other cameras, but from quite a distance away. They see silhouettes."
Fourteen officers and a police dog sealed off the main hallway Wednesday as about 20 administrators and teachers helped steer other students away, Aarons said. There were 107 students who happened to be in the hallway at the time, he added.
Police told the students to sit on the floor and put their hands out, McCrackin said.
Officers searched only book bags that the police dog responded to, not students, he said.
McCrackin said he believes a lookout alerted the group Wednesday morning by cell phone after seeing police arrive.
Later in the day, two other students who fought in the cafeteria during lunch were charged with disturbing school.
One of those received a five-day suspension, while the other received a 10-day suspension and is recommended for expulsion, he said.
About 2,760 students attend Stratford High, the largest school in Berkeley County and among the largest statewide.
Two officers work in the school full-time. The high school in the county's growing southern end has an academic reputation as one of the Lowcountry's best. It received a score of excellent on state report cards released Wednesday.
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.
"No school is immune, whether it's one of the best or one of the worst. It's anywhere and everywhere," said Harriett Dangerfield, chairwoman of the Berkeley County School Board. "I'm proud we don't deny those things occur. I'm delighted we're being proactive and not reactive, because it is out there."
Officers did not arrest anyone during the lockdown at 6:40 a.m. Wednesday. A police dog sniffed residue on 12 book bags but found no drugs,
What part did you not understand...there were no drugs found.
What's the significance of "no drugs were found"? Does that mean that drug dealing was not going on in the hallways? Is that your conclusion? That school authorites, therefore, had no justification to do the search?
Please tell me why this particular fact is so important to you.
I mean, you almost make it sound as though, if drugs were found, then you'd approve of the raid. Somehow, I don't think this is the case. Somehow I think you'd still be complaining. So, what's the point of bringing up the fact that no drugs were found?
Personally, I think you're taking advantage of hindsight to act morally superior, but hey, what do I know.
The school lost an excellent principal. I predict the drug problem will be twice as bad next school year, though the press will not cover that fact. Chalk up a win for the scumbag drug dealers and the bleeding-heart liberals who defend them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.