DRUG RAID IN SOUTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL HAS PARENTS UP IN ARMS OVER HOW IT WAS
HANDLED

LESTER HOLT, co-host:

Some parents in South Carolina are up in arms over a drug
raid this week at their children's high school. After the principal
expressed suspicions that there was a growing drug problem among the
students, police raided the school with guns drawn. And a security
surveillance camera caught it all as it happened. Here's NBC's Don
Teague.

DON TEAGUE, anchor:

An early morning drug raid in Goose Creek, South Carolina.
Police, some with guns drawn, ordering high school students to the
floor, with school surveillance cameras capturing the action.

Mr. THOMAS WALTZ (Stratford High School Student): Cops came
in the school at about 6:00 and told everybody to get up against the
wall and searched everybody for drugs and guns.

TEAGUE: Police handcuffed more than a dozen of the 100-plus
students who were in the main hallway, then used dogs to sniff their
backpacks for drugs.

Mr. AARON SIMS (Stratford High School Student): I mean, I was
scared because guns in school.

TEAGUE: For weeks, school officials had suspected an
organized marijuana ring was operating in the hallways.

The school principal called police after receiving a tip from
a student, then reviewing surveillance footage that showed suspicious
activity: A group of students gathering away from cameras, then
repeatedly going in and out of a rest room.

Mr. GEORGE McCRACKIN (Stratford High School Principal): We
will not tolerate drug usage here at the school. And we're going to
monitor it with whatever resources necessary to control it.

TEAGUE: The school district says it was appropriate to call
police but didn't know officers would draw their guns. Police are
defending the raid and their tactics, despite the fact they found no
drugs or weapons and made no arrests.

Lieutenant DAVE AARON (Goose Creek Police Department): I
don't think it was an overreaction. I believe it was one method,
one tactical method, by which we could safely approach the problem to
ensure that everyone was safe.

TEAGUE: Still, some parents are outraged, saying the raid was
an inappropriate use of force that put innocent students in danger.

Mr. JARED WEEKS (Stratford High School Student): They kind of
pushed us up against the wall and started searching us. And once
they got through searching us, they was like, 'You can go ahead and
go.' But they was aggressive and all that, and I didn't think all that
was needed for.

TEAGUE: Critics call it an example of zero tolerance gone too
far, saying the situation could have been handled without traumatizing
students.

Mr. GRAHAM BOYD (Drug Policy Director): Police do not have a
role crashing into a school with guns drawn, dogs, handcuffs, in order
to identify suspects who might have drugs. Call the kids to the
principal's office.

TEAGUE: State officials are now investigating the incident as
parents wonder how far authorities should go to keep schools
drug-free. For TODAY, Don Teague, NBC News, Atlanta.

HOLT: Maurice Harris, Jr. was one of the students detained
and searched by police at gunpoint. Maurice Harris, Sr. is his father.

And good morning to both of you. Thank you for joining us
today.

Mr. MAURICE HARRIS, Sr.: Good morning.

Mr. MAURICE HARRIS, Jr. (Student Searched by Police in School
Drug Raid): Good morning.

HOLT: Maurice, Jr., let me begin with you. As I understand
it, you're walking to breakfast, you hear a noise, you see the
police. Pick up the story from that point. What happened?

Mr. HARRIS, Jr.: Well, I saw the police. And then I was
frightened because they had guns in their hand. I didn't really
know what was going to happen. And I thought one the guns were going
to go off and shoot or kill somebody. So I just got down and got to my
knees and covered my head for prote--for protection.

HOLT: Had they ordered you down, or did you do that on your
own?

Mr. HARRIS, Jr.: He ordered me down when he put a gun to my
face and told me to get down, aggressively.

HOLT: Now you--you say he put a gun to your face. Police,
obviously, say, well, the guns were in a--in a downward position, not
aimed at anybody. But you felt threatened. Did--did they tell why
you they were there or ask you any questions?

Mr. HARRIS, Jr.: No, sir. They just told me to get down,
and I had to follow their--their procedures.

HOLT: Did you know why the police were there?

Mr. HARRIS, Jr.: No, sir.

HOLT: Had you ever heard of drug dealing in that area or in
the school?

Mr. HARRIS, Jr.: I have never heard of it.

HOLT: Maurice, Sr., let me ask you, when your son comes home
and tells you this story, what was the first thing you did?

Mr. HARRIS, Sr.: The first thing, I thought it was like a
drill, but he told me that officers drew their weapons. Then at
that at that point, I never knew if the drill was for real. And I
was very upset about the situation. And I think it could have been
handled a little better than that.

HOLT: And you--you called the school to find out what was
going on. What was the answer you got?

Mr. HARRIS, Sr.: When I called the school, I asked to speak
to the principal. And they put me through, but I never got to talk to
the principal, and I got cut off. I called back, and no one never
called me back or nothing from the school.

HOLT: And Mr. Harris, I understand you had worked in law
enforcement. You obviously know the problem with drugs in a lot of our
schools. Some say, 'Look, they've got to be heavy-handed.
They--they can't play around.' Where do you think they crossed the
line?

Mr. HARRIS, Sr.: They went through the right procedures.
But the only procedures was overdrawing when they drew their
weapons. They could have come up with a better idea to handle the
situation.

HOLT: And--and let me talk to your son again, Maurice, Jr.
Was there any sense that something was going to happen? School
authorities suspect well, maybe somebody was tipped off that the
police were coming. Were there rumors in the school that day?

Mr. HARRIS, Jr.: I never heard of rumors that day, but it
could have. Some people, they actually like to say stuff, but it
would--it would--it would turn out not--it would turn out to be fake.

HOLT: Did they physically search you while you were
down?

Mr. HARRIS, Jr.: They just checked my pockets, told me to
stand up.

HOLT: And I understand they also had dogs. What were the
dogs doing?

Mr. HARRIS, Jr.: The dogs were barking. If they smell
drugs on people's book bag, then the officers checked them if the dogs
barked at the book bag.

HOLT: And at any point in this process, did police say,
'Here's what we're looking for'? Or did they single out any
individuals who they wanted especially to talk to?

Mr. HARRIS, Jr.: Well, kind of, yes, they did, a little
bit. Like the section above me, people were standing there, and
then they just--he said, 'They look suspicious.' And he just checked
their book bags if the dog barked at them.

HOLT: All right. Well, Maurice Harris, junior and senior,
thanks to both of you for coming on and talking with us. We
appreciate it.

Mr. HARRIS, Sr.: Thank you.

Mr. HARRIS, Jr.: Thank you.

HOLT: Now here's Campbell.

CAMPBELL BROWN, co-host:

Lester, thanks.