GOOSE CREEK POLICE RESPOND TO SUIT

CHARLESTON - Goose Creek police acted in their official capacity and did
not violate student constitutional rights during a Stratford High School
drug sweep, during which officers with guns drawn ordered students to the
floor, according to a response to a federal lawsuit.

"Chief Harvey Becker was engaged in the performance of his official duties,
and at no time did he violate any clearly established constitutional rights
of the plaintiffs, which were known or should have been known to him," said
the 13-page response filed this week.

The filing also said the plaintiffs failed to state a cause of legal action
or facts supporting why "the City of Goose Creek Police Department can be
sued or held liable."

Seventeen Stratford High students sued in December, alleging police and
school officials terrorized them during the Nov. 5 raid that attracted
national attention.

Later, the American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of 20 other
students alleging violations of constitutional protections against unlawful
search and seizure.

In the days after the raid, videotape of officers with guns drawn and
students on the floor was televised nationwide. Officers found no drugs and
made no arrests during the raid.

In December, the Rev. Jesse Jackson led hundreds through North Charleston
in protest.

The filings this week answered the first suit on behalf of Goose Creek, its
Police Department and its chief.

Earlier, the Berkeley County School District responded to the suit, saying
the raid violated no constitutional rights. The students who sued are not
entitled to damages because the activities of district personnel "were
justified at inception and reasonable in scope," it said.

The separate response on behalf of the city and its Police Department cited
a defense of sovereign immunity and, as a first defense, said the students
failed to state a claim for which relief can be granted.

The response also said student claims for punitive damages violate the
double jeopardy clause of the U.S. Constitution "in that the defendant
could be subjected to multiple awards of punitive damages for the same set
of facts."

On Tuesday, the Berkeley County school board gave initial approval to
changes in how student searches are handled. Teachers or administrators
should make "a reasonable attempt to contact" parents before any
questioning of students, it said.

It also says searches will be limited in area and conducted only with
trained and reliable dogs.

It requires that searches "be limited in scope" and that measures used be
"reasonably related to the objectives of the search and not excessively
intrusive in light of the age and sex of the person searched and the nature
of the suspected infraction."

As required by state law, school administrators must immediately call
police after noticing students doing anything that may injure themselves,
someone else or property.

Otherwise, administrators must confer with the superintendent before
calling police.

After officers are called, they must consult with the superintendent on how
to proceed in a way that will "have a minimally disruptive effect on school
operations and student rights," the policy says.

As of Wednesday, no answers had been filed to the second lawsuit.