Landmark Settlement Reached in Notorious School Drug Raid Caught on Tape (4/7/2006)
Victims of South Carolina Raid Become Only Students in America with Complete Freedom From Unconstitutional
Search and Seizure
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
GOOSE CREEK, SC -- The
American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a landmark settlement reached
this week in its lawsuit challenging police tactics in the high-profile drug
raid of Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The settlement
sets a new standard for students’ constitutional rights to be free from
unreasonable search and seizure.
Absent a warrant, police
will now need either to have probable cause and pressing circumstances or
voluntary consent in order to conduct law enforcement activity on school grounds
– effectively granting Goose Creek students the essential privacy rights enjoyed
by all Americans.
“Police must now respect
the fundamental freedoms of Goose Creek students,” said Alyse Bertenthal, an
attorney with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project. “The settlement properly raises the bar
for student rights, and should serve as a model for every school in the
country.”
The November 5, 2003
police raid of Stratford High School was recorded by both the school’s
surveillance cameras and a police camera.
The tapes show students as young as 14 forced to the ground in handcuffs
as officers in SWAT team uniforms and bulletproof vests aim guns at their heads
and lead a drug dog to tear through their book bags. The ACLU represents 20 of
the nearly 150 students caught up in the raid.
The raid was initiated by
the school’s principal at the time, George McCrackin, who resigned shortly after
the tapes surfaced on national television. The raid was authorized based on the
principal’s suspicion that a single student was dealing marijuana. The raid was
carried out despite the suspected student being absent at the time. No drugs or weapons were found during
the raid and no charges were filed.
While African Americans
represented less than a quarter of the high school’s students, more than
two-thirds of those caught up in the sweep were African American. The raid took place in the early morning
hours when the school’s hallways are predominantly populated with African
American students whose buses arrive before those of their white classmates,
which largely travel from different neighborhoods. White students began to arrive during
the raid and witnessed the hostile roundup and detention of their African
American peers.
As 16-year-old Joshua
Ody, one of the students caught up in the raid, put it, “I felt like I had less
rights than other people that day.”
Following the raid, the
ACLU brought a lawsuit on behalf of students’ families charging police and
school officials with violating the students’ right to be free from unlawful
search and seizure and use of excessive force. The lawsuit demanded a court order
declaring the raid unconstitutional and blocking the future use of such tactics,
as well as damages on behalf of the students.
In addition to
recognizing students’ rights to be free from unconstitutional search and seizure
and restricting police tactics, the settlement establishes a $1.6 million dollar
fund to compensate the students and help cover medical and counseling costs from
the incident.
The cost of the
settlement will be paid by the city of Goose Creek, the Goose Creek Police
Department, and the Berkeley County School District where the school is located,
with assistance from their respective insurance companies.
It is not yet known
exactly how many of the nearly 150 students will accept the settlement. The offer came in response to a
class-action lawsuit on behalf of 53 students, of which the ACLU’s lawsuit is a
part. While both sides have agreed
to the terms of the settlement, it will be technically final in July 2006, when
it is expected to receive judicial approval.
The ACLU’s clients are:
15-year-old Carl Alexander, Jr.; 15-year-old Rodney Goodwin; 17-year-old Samuel Ody III; 17-year-old Micah Bryant; 15-year-old Marcus Blakeney; 14-year-old
Danyielle Ashley Cills; 15-year-old Cedric Penn, Jr.; 14-year-old Elijah Le'Quan Simpson; 14-year-old Jeremy Bolger; 14-year-old Tristan Cills; 14-year-old
Arielle Pena; 17-year-old Jalania McCullough; 17-year-old Cedric Simmons;
14-year-old Nathaniel Smalls; 15-year-old Timothy Rice; 15-year-old Shnikqua
Simmons; 16-year-old Joshua Ody; 16-year-old De'Nea Dykes; 15-year-old Chernitua
Bryant; and 18-year-old Rodricus Perry.
A school surveillance
video of the raid with narration by Principal McCrackin may be viewed at: http://stream.realimpact.net/?file=realimpact/aclu/20031205_ACLU_DrugBust.rm
The essential terms of
the settlement may be viewed at:
http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/youth/24952lgl20060407.html
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