ANSWERS ELUSIVE IN SCHOOL RAID

Probe Under Way Into Drug Sweep In Goose Creek Where Police Drew Guns,
Restrained Students

GOOSE CREEK -- Students crouch or lie facedown on the hard floor, their
hands restrained behind their backs by clear plastic handcuffs. Police,
with weapons drawn, walk around and over them, while drug-sniffing dogs
stick their noses in and out of book bags.

The video images from the Nov. 5 drug sweep at Stratford High School have
played over and over on national television since a school official
released the tape to the media the next day.

Now, with a state police investigation under way and people from around the
country looking on, it still isn't clear how this could have happened.

Goose Creek police aren't answering questions about whether they
overreacted. Neither is the city's mayor, who is the police chief's boss.

The school's principal, George McCrackin, said he called in police to take
care of a "drug problem." He said he had no idea they would come in with
guns unholstered.

Still, he didn't intervene once he realized what was going on. Instead, he
stood watching, along with assistant principals, teachers and coaches as
the 45-minute search progressed. The dogs reacted to 12 book bags, but no
drugs were found.

In a letter to Stratford parents, McCrackin said he was "surprised and
extremely concerned when I observed the guns drawn. However, once police
are on campus, they are in charge."

The State Law Enforcement Division might or might not back up his position.
The agency's investigation is expected to wrap up in several weeks.

At least one parent whose child wasn't involved said she is putting her son
in another school. Lisa Brown, front desk manager at the Days Inn in nearby
Ladson, said her son, a freshman, thinks the sting targeted
African-American students.

"He's tired of being stereotyped," she said.

Another mother, whose son was involved in the sweep, said she is speeding
up their move to California. Tina Penn's 15-year-old son, Cedric Penn Jr.,
was in the hallway when police ran inside and ordered everyone down.

"I froze up. I didn't know what to do. I fell on the ground. Everybody
thought it was a terrorist attack," he said.

On his knees and facing the wall, the teen said a gun was pointed at his
head. "I think it was racially motivated," he said.

WHO's Accountable?

That is not the case, said Pam Bailey, executive director of the Berkeley
County Schools office of public relations.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," she said.

School officials said they saw suspicious activity taking place in the same
spot at the same time of day over four days. That's why that hallway was
targeted, she said.

Stratford, the largest of six high schools in the Berkeley district, has
2,700 students. It's designed to have 1,800 students. Seventy percent of
the school's students are white; 20 percent are black.

Penn, who said he wasn't aware of any drug activity at the school, told his
mother what happened when he arrived home that day. She had a hard time
believing something like that had happened at school. Then she saw the
video on the news.

"My heart just dropped. I felt so sick," Tina Penn said.

Her son is in counseling because of the incident, she said, and the family
is planning to move to California at the end of the month, rather than
waiting until the end of the school year as originally planned. Tina Penn
said her husband, who is working in California, was appalled when he heard
the news and urged her and the children to "move now."

"The principal needs to be held accountable," she said.

Others can't say enough good things about McCrackin. The Stratford High
Student Council sent a letter to the Berkeley County School Board in
support of the principal. Describing him as a "dedicated, selfless
individual," the students said he puts them first.

"When asked why, on his school walkie-talkie, his number was 2, he said
that this was because his students were number one," the letter stated. "He
would not do anything to endanger his students or do anything without
probable cause."

On Friday, students and teachers held a rally outside the Crowfield
Boulevard school. They held signs encouraging motorists to honk if they
supported McCrackin.

Junior Lauren Shull, whose mother teaches at Stratford, said she stands
behind the actions of the school and the police.

"They're trying to keep the school safe," the 16-year-old said.

Not Here, Certainly

A sign outside the Stratford High School entrance proclaims the Knights as
the 1999 Division I AAAA state football champions. That's one of the many
honors Berkeley County's largest high school has earned.

The school has a nationally ranked speech and debate team, a nationally
ranked academic team and received the Governor's Award for Service Learning.

"Stratford High School is one of the outstanding schools in the state,"
said Chester Floyd, who has been Berkeley County schools superintendent for
six years.

Since the sweep, it has also been one of the most talked about schools in
the country. The school system's district office has fielded calls from
national media and talk show hosts, including Oprah Winfrey and Montel
Williams.

According to Floyd, who was superintendent of Lexington 1 from 1988 to
1997, the principal was not in the hallway when the sweep began but
signaled police when students arrived there. When the principal and other
administrators got to the scene, the raid was well under way.

McCrackin last week declined a request for an interview.

In his letter to parents, McCrackin said "at no time was there any
indication to me that the requested search would involve any police
officers having guns drawn 'at ready.' Police have never drawn weapons in
any search prior to Wednesday."

That doesn't satisfy Stratford senior Amber McCutcheon, who said the school
has been forever tarnished by the raid.

"We were known for our football team. Now, we're known for the cops
pointing guns at the students," said McCutcheon, 17.

McCutcheon and her friend, Tia Scott, also a senior, sat on a sidewalk
after school Wednesday shaking their heads.

"It was outrageous," said Scott, 18, who added she was searched when she
arrived at school Nov. 5. "Is it going to happen again?"

'A Much Different Approach' In Future

Routine drug searches are bound to happen, Floyd said, but he wants a
different method the next time.

"I hope we never have a situation with a number of officers unholstering
their guns unless they've seen another gun pointed at them or the
students," he said.

"I don't have all the answers yet," he said. "I don't want law enforcement
to jeopardize their health, but I don't want students traumatized if they
don't have to be, as well."

Still, he said, "state law requires that if you suspect illegal activity on
campus, you must report it to law enforcement."

Students were going into restrooms, while other students were posing as
lookouts, Floyd said.

Police "felt there was enough consistent activity to warrant the level of
search that was conducted. They felt they had probable cause," schools
spokeswoman Bailey said.

Police said they aren't commenting because of the SLED investigation. Chief
Harvey Becker said Mayor Michael Heiztler had forbidden him from commenting.

"If (McCrackin) had known the guns were going to be drawn, he would not
have asked for the assistance," Bailey said.

Floyd, the superintendent, said the guns were "an absolute surprise to
everyone."

In Goose Creek and across the country, it is routine to send in
drug-sniffing dogs to do unannounced drug searches on school campuses,
Floyd said.

"If we think drugs and alcohol aren't present, we're probably being very
naive," he said. "Students and parents expect us to have a safe
environment. We want to be proactive."

Floyd said the kind of raid that happened Nov. 5 isn't likely to happen
again. "We will have a much different approach than having students
restrained and guns drawn," he said.

Floyd said he's eager to see the results of the SLED probe.

An Explanation? 'I've Seen None'

If state laws are broken, Solicitor Ralph Hoisington of Charleston would be
the prosecutor. He has a lot of questions.

"I've been waiting on a reasonable explanation of why the police officers
had to pull guns. I've seen none," he said.

Hoisington said he watched the videotape and noticed a female police
officer was making a video of her own of the incident.

He asked police to turn over a copy and said he plans to watch it early
this week.

He also called the U.S. attorney's office and alerted them to the incident,
in case any federal charges arise. The U.S. attorney's office, in such
cases, notifies the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights
division.

At a meeting Wednesday night in North Charleston, officials with the NAACP
and American Civil Liberties Union organized a committee to study, among
other issues, what happened at Stratford.

"We will not let this issue die. We are getting our data together and will
take this to the Justice Department," said Mary Ward, president of the
North Charleston branch of the NAACP.

As for the school district, Floyd said he and other administrators are
working as hard to create a safe environment for the students, preferably
without another drug raid with guns involved.

This was a first for him, he said.

"I like being first in many things, but I don't want to be first in this. I
don't mind leading the pack, but for this you don't want to be number one."