Pubdate: Wed, 17 Dec 2003
Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2003 The Charlotte Observer
Contact:  http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/78
Author: Bruce Smith, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/goose+creek (Goose Creek)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

JACKSON PROTESTS DRUG SWEEP

He Said Incident At Goose Creek High School Tarnishes South's Image

NORTH CHARLESTON - Incidents such as a drug sweep during which Goose Creek 
Police with weapons drawn ordered students to the floor tarnish the image 
the new South is trying to build, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said Tuesday.

"The South deserves better than this. These images and these events keep us 
in a gutter," said Jackson, a native of Greenville.

Jackson spoke with reporters before a march to protest the Nov. 5 drug 
sweep at Stratford High School which has drawn national attention and 
spawned two federal court lawsuits. The march was also to protest the death 
of a mentally ill black man while in custody of North Charleston Police.

"The real challenge to the South is to fight unfair trade policies," 
Jackson said. "We need to be fighting together, marching together and 
rallying together for a fair trade policy -- fighting together for a fair 
tax policy; fighting together for a comprehensive health care policy."

Surveillance cameras from the high school showed students on the floor 
while officers with guns drawn and a drug dog checked about 100 students.

Police said the dog sniffed drug residue on 12 book bags but found no 
illegal drugs, and nobody was arrested.

Two civil suits have been filed in federal court. State and federal 
officials also are investigating whether any criminal laws were broken by 
police. Critics of the raid have objected to the use of force and say it 
appeared targeted at black students, noting it occurred early in the 
morning at a time when mostly black students were at the school.

Jackson spoke with reporters on the last day of a four-day visit to the 
South Carolina coast.

"We learn to play ball together on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. In Iraq 
and Afghanistan, we die together," he said.

"We can live together at home as we die together abroad -- racial 
reconciliation, voter registration and economic security for all the people 
of our nation. The South must lead the way with new economic priorities and 
new economic values," he added.

Nat Smalls, a Stratford student and a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed this 
week against the school and police, appeared Tuesday on CBS' "The Morning 
Show."

"I was scared because I thought of Columbine. I thought a student at my 
school had a gun or something like that. And I thought to run, but I didn't 
because I thought if I ran I would have got shot," he said.

The march was also to protest last month's fatal shooting in North 
Charleston. Police said they fired to subdue a man, who stabbed an officer. 
The officer was wearing a protective vest and was uninjured.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom