South Carolina Drug Sweep: Police State?

[Inverse Icarus]

Originally posted by mrmitchell

Yeah, sure, like a high school kid is going to shoot back.

a kid at my highschool was arrested for having a gun on him, in the school, and he sold weed. i'm assuming the cops were told this was a "big operation", and they very well could have had guns.

you'd all be singing a different tune if an officer was paralyzed after the raid.

[Dis]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
I woulda been handcuffed. I woulda been standing there telling the cops they had no right and screaming about the Constitution off the top of my mouth.

If you start spouting off the constitution they will know you aren't an american student and are a terrorist. That's a good way to get yourself killed.

[Q Classic]

no real american knows the constitution.

did they have dogs in the school to sniff out drugs? probably would have worked a helluva lot better with a helluva lot less backlash.

[mrmitchell]

a kid at my highschool was arrested for having a gun on him, in the school, and he sold weed. i'm assuming the cops were told this was a "big operation", and they very well could have had guns.

There's not enough chance of fighting back with kids to warrant having guns out and drawn.

you'd all be singing a different tune if an officer was paralyzed after the raid.

Yeah, and you would if a kid got shot and killed.

[Jack_www]

Well the courts have ruled that student in school can be searched any time during school with out the students permission or a warrent. I dont think that this was an illiegal search. If the police thought they the students had drugs on them from what they were told. So the police acted in this way. No one was arrested and if the students are not dealing with drugs they have nothing to worry about.

[Q Classic]

jack, the complaints are not about the search. it's about the method the search was carried out.

had the cops gone in without their guns drawn, this wouldn't be on the news.

[Dis]

they had to worry about accidently being shot- that's what they had to worry about.

They had to worry about the loss of dignity being treated like a common criminal. Every student was on their knees (a demeaning position) with their hands behind their head.

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by mrmitchell

Yeah, sure, like a high school kid is going to shoot back.

I can understand the chance of fighting back if it were a shady crack house or something, but IT'S A ****ING SCHOOL. With KIDS.


The police department probably will be as well, and what's ironic is they'd probably have to cut protection to make up for cuts resulting from any lawsuit.

Well, you give up reasonable rights in a school building (lockers can be searched is one)...backpack searches are understandable as well...but handcuffing kids, holding guns to their heads? That's such a grossly excessive abuse of power...

What's more worrying is the thought that there are kids somewhere that are stupid enough to fight back against the officers. I can see the headlines now: "Drug Sweep Leaves 3 Dead", "Officer Says Firing Was in Self-Defense"...call it a nightmare situation, but police departments shouldn't even be opening themselves up to that kind of risk at all.

Yeah and Columbine High School never had any weapons in it.

No they didnt find any drugs, yes they had a few positive "Hits" by a Narcotics Dog, which is admissable in court

The Police were called because the School Dept. alerted them.

No I dont think it was the "Most appropriate" action, but as a former Law Enforcement official I see the need for containment...

Cuffs (Flexible or standards issue)

Weapons at the Ready..drawn not pointing but in the ready position

Ok..check this out..

High School calls Police Dept. to do a sweep.

They come in, laid back.."respectful" of the innocent age of the children and then a kid, fearing his getting caught because he felt the need to carry a firearm to school...decides to pull it aand it accidently goes off, because "The innocent age" this child has doesnt have any experience with safeties and a weapon "accidently going off"


I say the police could have acted perhaps with some additional restraint but surely well within their legal bounds, I mean, I know a little something of this, and no I am not a lawyer or an ambulance chaser whom could find some loophole..

I just think we need to look at the "Bigger Picture"

Drugs are illegal and cause a lot of problems.

Weapons are known to accompany drug/narcotics sales


School age kids are not immune to the peer pressures of a power trip.."Making" a name for themselves


Grandpa Troll

[Dis]

drugs only cause problems because they are illegal.

No reason to have guns draws and force students to their knees like some common whore.

[Q Classic]

i still do not understand why the cops felt so threatened that they had to go in with weapons drawn.

[mrmitchell]

Versus Troll's own horror story, here's the other end of the spectrum:

-Cops come rushing in the building, order everyone to get down, have guns drawn. (What basically happened.) Group of stupid brats decides to fight back with guns or just mobbing the cop, and cops fire shots.

Honestly, if a little brat is going to fight back, he's going to do it whether the cops can beat the snot out of him or not. Especially if they've got the "peer pressure of a power trip" on them--think, he can tell his homies in the hood that he got gunned down by a real live cop! (He could probably brag about the huge out-of-court settlement he got for it too.)

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by Dissident
drugs only cause problems because they are illegal.

No reason to have guns draws and force students to their knees like some common whore.

You are wrong about that!

I am a recovering addict..I can tell you people dont think straight when on a 4 day "wired trip" on Chrystal Meth

People dont feel much when on Phencyclidine http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/pcp.html

Call it Love Boat (marijuana soaked), Angel Dust-(Powder form), "Green" (Parsley soaked)

Cocaine/Crack induced rages..

As for Guns drawn and children on their knees it is called containment

Peace

Grandpa Troll

[Berzerker]

I am fascinated where this doctrine that students don't have civil rights came from. The politicans tax people to pay for public schools making it harder for them to send their kids to private schools so most parents are effectively coerced into using the public schools, then once they have your children there, we're told your kids don't have rights like the rest of us. That's like telling everyone they have to show up at a government building once a week where their rights disappear and they can be searched at will...

On the other hand, police received a tip of a "crime" in progress so what are they supposed to do? If they were told a murder suspect was running around in a school full of kids, they'd have to go in armed and ready and if they didn't know what the suspect looked like they'd have to treat everyone as suspects.

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by Berzerker
I am fascinated where this doctrine that students don't have civil rights came from. The politicans tax people to pay for public schools making it harder for them to send their kids to private schools so most parents are effectively coerced into using the public schools, then once they have your children there, we're told your kids don't have rights like the rest of us. That's like telling everyone they have to show up at a government building once a week where their rights disappear and they can be searched at will...

On the other hand, police received a tip of a "crime" in progress so what are they supposed to do? If they were told a murder suspect was running around in a school full of kids, they'd have to go in armed and ready and if they didn't know what the suspect looked like they'd have to treat everyone as suspects.

Well, the school system called the police in and had surveillence tapes showing what was described as transactions. The school had years ago when I attended in the 1970's and to this date have the rights to search any person,place or thing on campus, after all, its not the kids personal property, its a public school, much like a govt. building or state owned property and thusly subject to search and seizure laws set aside by that body Political.

As for Doctrine of childrens civil rights, what about the untold innocent kids whom have to be subjected day in and day out to trafficking,usage and other dealings?

Its a shame we have to have this conversation, but drugs are an unfortunate part of society..and as "Ugly" as this Police action is being presented, its an even uglier situation having this in our school system.

Most folks state that these are kids..ok I agree.

So as innocent as these children are purported to be, as one child said in a post incident statement, "The school knows whom the dealers and users are, why not go after them?"

Ok, so now we have an admission from an "innocent"..

Or are these kids all innocent? I wasnt there..nor were you or anyone else posting here...all we know for sure is this:

A-The school admitted it had a problem

B-Called in professionals

C-No drugs, only tape evidence and positive "Hits" by a narcotics dog

D-Failure by "Innocent" kids to obey a lawful order of a Govt. Official..a police officer to obey a command..when they didnt they were restrained and put down on ground

E-No shots fired and a safe sweep completed

Peace

Grandpa Troll

[Berzerker]

Troll -

You are wrong about that!

I am a recovering addict..I can tell you people dont think straight when on a 4 day "wired trip" on Chrystal Meth

Ah, the good 'ol days! But I never killed or hurt anyone when not thinking "straight" so what "problem" did I cause?

As for Guns drawn and children on their knees it is called containment

Yup. Gone are the days when warrants were served in a civil manner.

Peace

Grandpa Troll

Not much peace during war.