GOOSE CREEK RAID DESERVES MORE SERIOUS REVIEW

The troubling Case of Goose Creek police officers and their conduct at
Stratford High School is now on Attorney General Henry McMaster's
desk. Mr. McMaster owes all involved a thorough and complete review of
these events.

Unfortunately, that is not what Berkeley County residents received
from their solicitor, Ralph Hoisington. Mr. Hoisington reviewed
videotapes of the Nov. 5 raid and held a news conference to announce
himself "appalled" by the scene. Frankly, so is just about everyone
else who reviews the tapes. The impropriety of the whole event should
be unquestioned at this juncture.

The question now is whether Goose Creek police officers violated the
law when they stormed a high school hallway, drew their guns, cuffed
students and forced to them to the floor for a drug search. No drugs
were found among the more than 100 students involved.

Seventeen of the students have sued the school district and the
police, alleging that their constitutional rights were violated by an
unreasonable search and by denial of due process. The students'
complaint also says they were victims of assault, battery and false
arrest.

At a news conference to announce he would refer the matter to the attorney
general, Solicitor Hoisington said he had watched tapes of the event and read
a State Law Enforcement Division report on it. As to the question of whether
charges should be filed against the officers, Mr. Hoisington replied to The
Post and Courier: "I could not reach that level of surety. It needs to be
looked at further by an independent agency." In a prepared statement also
reported by the Charleston newspaper, the solicitor offered that, "While I am
confident the goals of the Goose Creek Police Department were appropriate,
the actual methods employed by certain officers were ill-advised at best. My
review of the surveillance tapes and witness interviews left me with
questions and concerns regarding the actions of several officers involved in
the intervention."

Mr. Hoisington went on to say some officers' conduct clearly was more
questionable than others, and then enumerated the state charges that
would be possible if the officers' actions rose to the level of crimes.

Despite this level of detail and concern about the events that
transpired in the school hallway, Mr. Hoisington said he could not
determine whether criminal charges should be filed because it would be
a conflict of interest for his office. Mr. Hoisington sometimes
prosecutes arrests made by Goose Creek police.

Let's set aside the issue of whether it is valid to consider that a
true conflict of interest. What is troubling is the way he raised the
hopes of the parents and students involved by holding a news
conference, only to announce a punt. Mr. Hoisington's possible
conflict existed from the moment this incident unfolded. He should
have swiftly moved the matter out of his office. As it is, Mr.
Hoisington appears to be trying to trade on public outrage about the
incident while avoiding accountability for any decision to prosecute
the officers.

We hope to see a more responsible course by Mr. McMaster. Citizens of
Berkeley County and all of South Carolina deserve a thorough
examination of the officers' conduct as well as an up-or-down decision
as to whether those appalling actions violated state law.