Date Published: July 11, 2006   

Students to receive payments in drug raid settlement

The Associated Press

Students searched during a 2003 drug raid by police at Stratford High School are eligible for compensation of between $6,000 and $12,000 apiece, now that a federal judge has approved a $1.6 million class-action settlement.

U.S. District Judge Patrick Michael Duffy approved the settlement Monday in a lawsuit filed against the Berkeley County School District and the Goose Creek Police Department by families of students affected by the raid.

Surveillance videotapes captured the raid in which officers drew their guns, ordered students to lie on the floor and used a dog to search them for illegal drugs. Police found no drugs and no arrests were made. About 140 students were at the school at the time.

The students will split $1.2 million and their attorneys' will receive the remaining $400,000.

Also, Goose Creek police will be required to obtain a warrant before searching students on campus, according to the settlement.

Typically, officers have not had to obtain warrants or show probable cause to search students on campuses, said Graham Boyd, an attorney with the America Civil Liberties Union, which represented some of the students.

"That is, by our analysis, why the problem in Goose Creek happened," Boyd said. The police took advantage of more lenient rules and abused that discretion. (The settlement) gives to the students of Goose Creek a set of protections that is as robust as the protections adults enjoy."

Students involved in the drug sweep must file claims by July 28, said Marlon Kimpson, one of the attorneys for the students. A court-appointed claims administrator will determine which students are eligible for the money.

"It is now incumbent on the students to take action and have their claim considered," Kimpson said.

The exact amount each student receives will depend on the final number of claims.

Since the raid, the school district and the Goose Creek Police Department have changed their policies for drug sweeps.

"You must conduct drug searches according to the U.S. Constitution," Kimpson said. "This settlement and this class-action lawsuit is notice to police officers and school officials across the nation that students don't shed their constitutional rights merely by entering a schoolhouse door."

Kimpson said many of the firm's clients have said they plan to use the money to pay for college or additional education.

The case drew national attention as a result of the videotapes. The Rev. Jesse Jackson led a protest march amid accusations blacks were unfairly targeted.

Following an investigation, state Attorney General Henry McMaster called it "highly inappropriate" for police to draw their guns but concluded their actions did not warrant criminal charges.

Goose Creek is about 20 miles northwest of Charleston.

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Information from: The Post and Courier,