Pubdate: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 Source: Post and Courier, The (Charleston, SC) Copyright: 2003 Evening Post Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.charleston.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567 Author: Warren Wise Webpage: http://www.charleston.net/stories/120503/loc_05goose.shtml Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/goose+creek (Goose Creek) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) SCHOOL RAID SENT TO STATE OFFICE Hoisington Hands Case Over Rather Than Rule Himself GOOSE CREEK--Solicitor Ralph Hoisington said Thursday that while he was "appalled" by the controversial drug raid Nov. 5 at Stratford High School, he won't prosecute Goose Creek police officers and will instead ask the state attorney general to investigate. Hoisington, who sometimes prosecutes arrests made by Goose Creek police officers, said he wanted to avoid any perceived conflict of interest. He turned the state investigation over to Attorney General Henry McMaster for an independent determination of whether criminal violations occurred. Hoisington asked the State Law Enforcement Division to share its findings with the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI to determine whether any federal laws were broken. Hoisington reviewed the school's videotapes and a 200-page SLED probe into the drug sweep in which students were forced at gunpoint to lie down in a hallway and subjected to drug searches that turned up empty. Some students were handcuffed. Hoisington offered no conclusions as to whether charges should be filed against the officers. "I could not reach that level of surety," he said at a news conference at Goose Creek City Hall. "It needs to be looked at further by an independent agency." In a prepared statement, he said: "While I am confident the goals of the Goose Creek Police Department were appropriate, the actual methods employed by certain officers were ill-advised at best. My review of the surveillance tapes and witness interviews left me with questions and concerns regarding the actions of several officers involved in the intervention." Children who have done nothing wrong do not deserve such treatment, Hoisington said. "The students are not at war with police, and it shouldn't appear that way," he said. Despite Hoisington's announcement, the debate about the sweep is likely to end up in other legal arenas. A group of local trial lawyers planned to file a federal class action lawsuit today on behalf of the Stratford students and their parents, said Ron Motley, the group's lead attorney. The lawsuit will allege that Goose Creek police and school officials violated students' constitutional rights during the sweep, he said. "There is overwhelming evidence to support the claim that police were abusive and used excessive force on these children," Motley said. He added that the lawsuit will not allege that police were involved in any racial targeting. "We don't have any strong evidence that this happened at this time," he said, "though as we get into the case, we may find that this did happen." He said the lawsuit will be filed in U.S. District Court in Charleston. Hoisington said the attorney general could keep the case or pass it on to another prosecutor. "Once we receive the solicitor's information, the SLED report and any related material, it will receive a thorough review by the attorney general's office," McMaster spokesman Trey Walker said. "The options available are to decline prosecution, prosecute or refer it to another law enforcement entity." Officers are not off the hook, Hoisington said. "It is clear to me that some deserve more scrutiny than others," he said. Fourteen officers participated in the raid. If the officers' actions rise to the level of a crime, Hoisington said, state charges could include assault, assault and battery, or assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Federal charges would involve civil rights violations, he said. Goose Creek Mayor Mike Heitzler defended the officers, saying the school reported 15 drug-related charges during the first four months of the school year compared with 19 for all of last year. He said there were six weapons charges last year and a couple so far this year. He declined to say whether officers have been instructed to change their tactics during school drug sweeps, but he said the department has learned some lessons and is asking other agencies how they deal with similar raids. "We want to do it in a way that doesn't infringe on the rights and liberties of children in our schools," he said. Stratford Principal George McCrackin invited police into the school after reviewing four days of videotapes from the school's 70 surveillance cameras, which he said showed a marked increase in drug activity in the targeted hallway. Members of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, who say black students were unfairly targeted in the drug sweep, were not surprised by Hoisington's decision to ask for higher review. Seventy percent of the 107 students subjected to the raid were black. "As a lawyer, I know you can't prosecute your own police," said Janice Mathis of the civil rights group's Atlanta office. "I am cautiously optimistic the process will work." Elder James Johnson, president of the Charleston Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, agreed. "It needs to go to the Justice Department," he said. "The state of South Carolina doesn't have a record of prosecuting police officers." Hoisington could not remember the last time a Lowcountry police officer or sheriff's deputy was charged with assault. Parents of some of the children caught up in the drug sweep weren't so quick to brush aside the solicitor's decision. "What did he do? Pass the buck," said Sharon Smalls, whose 14-year-old son, Nathaniel, was forced to the floor of the school. "We all have morals and values," Smalls said. "Right is right, and wrong is wrong. This was wrong. They have broken all of these children's civil rights." Tina Penn described the reaction of her 15-year-old son, Cedric, as he was forced to lie in the hallway: "He thought about running. He thought it was a terrorist attack at first. What if he had run? What would have happened?" Both said the solicitor's decision left them with few answers and more questions. They said their sons are undergoing counseling at the Medical University of South Carolina as crime victims. "Those guns should not have been drawn on these students," Penn said. "This was not a crack house. It was a school," said Sharon Stafford, whose 15-year-old son, Carl Alexander, was forced to the floor. "This should never happen to anybody's child, and somebody needs to be held accountable." Tony Bartelme of The Post and Courier Staff contributed to this report. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom