Police Raid School With Guns Drawn

A dozen officers in Goose Creek, South Carolina stormed through the halls of Stratford High School with guns drawn, forcing 107 students to lay on the floor and submit to a drug dog search. Students were commanded to get on their knees with their hands behind their head, students who did not respond quick enough were put into handcuffs. One student said, “I thought one of the guns was going to go off and shoot or kill somebody, so I just got down to my knees and covered my head for protection.” The scene, which looks more like Iraq than a high school, was captured by the school survellance cameras and then broadcast by the media. The raid was an attempt to find marijuana, but no drugs were found. One student said: “They would go put a gun up to them and push them against the wall and they would like take their bookbags.” Parents were outraged at the raid, but principal George McCrackin said he would “utilize whatever forces that I deem necessary” to keep drugs out of the school. State police are now investigating the incident. NYRA members are encouraged to express your outrage by e-mailing Principal George McCrackin, the Goose Creek Chief of Police Harvey Becker, Charleston Post and Courier, and your local newspaper.