S.C. SCHOOL UNDER MICROSCOPE AFTER POLICE RAID

SLED, others explore sweep

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 TV since a school official released the
tape to the media the next day.

Now, with a state police investigation under way and people from across the
country watching, 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 may or may 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 said her son, a freshman, thinks the sting
targeted black 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.

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.

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.

Taking sides

School officials said they saw suspicious activity taking place in the same
spot at the same time of day four days in a row. 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.

Tina Penn said her son is in counseling because of the incident, and the
family is planning to move to California at the end of the month, rather
than at the end of the school year.

"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.

On Friday, students and teachers held a rally outside the Crowfield
Boulevard school.

Junior Lauren Shull, whose mother teaches at Stratford, said she approves of
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
1999 football champions.

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 the county's 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.

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.

An explanation?

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.

He 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 Justice Department's civil rights division.

At a meeting Wednesday night in North Charleston, officials with the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and American
Civil Liberties Union organized a committee to study what happened at
Stratford.

As for the school district, Floyd said the administration is working as hard
to create a safe environment for the students, preferably without another
drug raid with guns involved.