A Nov. 5 drug raid on a South Carolina high school interrupted classes and frightened students, but revealed no drugs on the premises. This is yet another example of the futility of the so-called “War on Drugs.”
It is a waste of taxpayer money and a disruption of the peace.
Officers surrounded Stratford High School and moved in, some of them with guns drawn as if they were busting an organized crime outfit. Officers wrestled students to the ground and subdued some of them with plastic handcuffs.
The raid occurred as a result of the school principal’s request for action, but school officials later said they were not aware that weapons would be directly involved in the search.
School administrators and police officers monitored surveillance cameras for days and claimed to have “observed consistent, organized drug activity” at the school, according to CNN.
They said that some students would “pose as lookouts” while others “disclosed themselves from the cameras,” presumably to conduct illegal drug transactions. Yet no students were found to have illegal substances in their possession.
Police insist that the students were tipped off, as if this is an excuse for the poor performance of their unit. This only further demonstrates their incompetence.
Faulty intelligence and disorganization are unjustifiable violations of public confidence. Even if some of the students are involved with drug use, this does not justify traumatizing students.
In response to allegations of violence and aggression, the police unit claimed that officers did not intentionally point their guns at students. One wonders how a trained police officer could manage to unintentionally point his loaded weapon at an innocent minor. The officers used excessive force and intimidation tactics.
Drug-sniffing dogs and student property searches revealed no valid evidence to support the officers’ claims that illegal activities had taken place on the campus.
The unit should be held accountable for wasted resources, interrupting educational activities and unnecessarily scaring the students. Taxpayer money should not be used so police officers can play cop games with schoolchildren when they have nothing better to do.
An investigation should be conducted to determine whether officers pointed loaded guns at the students, as students have claimed. Surveillance tapes and adult witnesses could easily verify the accuracy of their accounts. If the claims are true, officers should be prosecuted for excessive use of force in order to deter future assaults on innocent youths.
The raid was the first that the unit has conducted at a school, and hopefully it will be the last. Drawn weapons were unnecessary for a high school drug raid in a small South Carolina town.
If police departments insist on conducting school raids, they should receive training specific to their objective of finding illegal substances in a timely, efficient manner so students are not terrorized in the process.
It would be preferable if officers could refrain from such raids altogether. They should focus on the adult criminals who are supplying the children rather than targeting minors.
If officers continue to have extra free time, they should engage in productive activities such as sensitivity training. Their job is to serve and protect, not to harass and assault.
Katherine Story is a junior history and Spanish major. She can be reached at [email protected].