POLICE STORM HIGH SCHOOL

Imagine being back in high school, walking the hallways between class,
stopping at your locker to switch books or talk with friends. Suddenly,
over a dozen police officers storm into the building with guns drawn,
screaming for everyone to kneel down with their hands on their head. Sounds
like something out of an action movie, right? For over 100 students at
Stratford High School just north of Charleston, it was very much a reality.

On the morning of November 5, 14 Goose Creek city police entered the school
with the intent of performing a drug search. The search came after a
student at the school informed officials of drug sales on school grounds.
Footage of the search was captured on one of the 48 security cameras
installed in the school.

Drug searches are not uncommon in public schools, and school officials have
the right to perform locker inspections at any time. However, it is the
method of the search that has many parents and students up in arms.

Observers noted that several of the officers had their guns drawn and
pointed at the students in the crowded hallway, forcing them up against the
walls and onto the ground.

Fourteen students, who the police claimed were not complying with orders,
were handcuffed. Police dogs brought into the hallway reacted positively to
twelve student's book bags, but no drugs were found and no arrests were made.

Students were frightened by the event. Aaron Sims, a 14-year-old student at
the school, told reporters: "They would go put a gun up to them, push them
against the wall, take their book bags and search them. They just came up
and got my friend, not even saying anything or what was going to happen ...
I was scared."

Ideally, a school is a secure environment for both students and teachers,
but is it possible to go too far in search of that goal? Roger Rolin,
former president of the Piedmont area branch of the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU), believes it is. "Probable cause is required to be
able to search a student's personal belongings," said Rolin. He continued,
"Having probable cause to search a handful of students is acceptable, but
corralling over a hundred students with guns drawn reminds me of Gestapo
tactics." Graham Boyd, director of the drug policy project for the ACLU
agreed, saying, "You absolutely cannot bring police with guns drawn into a
school."

The incident is under investigation by multiple organizations, including
the ACLU, the school district and local and state police. Police had been
monitoring tapes from the school's security cameras for several days, and
reported "consistent, organized drug activity."

After the school's principal reviewed the tapes, he invited police into the
school, asking them to respond to the illegal activity documented on the
tapes. David Barrow, secondary school supervisor for the Berkeley School
District, said the school was unaware that weapons would be drawn, but
stated the school believed action was necessary as a result of the drug
activity.

Lt. Dave Aarons of the Goose Creek Police Department defended the use of
the drawn weapons. "Anytime narcotics and money are involved there is the
reasonable assumption that weapons will be involved," he said. He
continued, "Our primary concern was the safety of the students [and]
everyone else involved."