GOOSE CREEK - Prosecutor Ralph Hoisington has asked state Attorney General Henry McMaster to review the investigation into a drug sweep by police at a high school to determine whether officers violated the law.

Hoisington made the announcement Thursday after reviewing a 200-page report on a drug sweep in which police officers drew guns as students were ordered to the floor at Stratford High School.

Hoisington also asked the State Law Enforcement Division to share the results of its investigation with the U.S. attorney's office and FBI to determine whether federal criminal violations occurred in the Nov. 5 search.

"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," he said in a prepared statement.

Videotape from surveillance cameras showed students on the floor while officers with guns drawn looked for drugs. Police checked 107 students and briefly restrained about a dozen.

Fourteen officers and a drug dog took part in the sweep at the school in this bedroom community of 29,000 residents 20 miles northwest of Charleston.

Hoisington said he reviewed surveillance tapes and was "appalled."

"The students are not at war with the police and it shouldn't appear that way," he said.

After the review of the tapes and witness interviews, Hoisington said he could not say with certainty whether the actions by police were legally justified.

Hoisington said the attorney general's office could conduct its own investigation or assign the matter to another prosecutor in a different part of the state.

The attorney general's office had not received the information or SLED's report as of Thursday, said spokesman Trey Walker. There was no timetable for when a decision would be made, he said.

Goose Creek Mayor Michael Heitzler said town officials also were concerned with the video images of the drug sweep, which were broadcast nationwide. "I know what the images are. I don't know what the cause of the images are," he said.

There has been no disciplinary action at the police department, Heitzler said.

Some students and parents praised school officials for taking a tough stand on drugs. Others were angry about the use of force and called for the dismissal of school Principal George McCrackin.

School officials asked police in after receiving reports of marijuana sales on campus. Police said the dog sniffed drug residue on 12 book bags but found no drugs. No one was arrested.

Sharon Smalls, whose son had a gun pointed at his head during the sweep, objected to Hoisington sending the investigation to McMaster.

"Everybody is pushing it off on somebody else. Nobody can make a decision to say whether it's right or wrong," she said. "We're talking about children. ... You go to jail if you put a gun to somebody's head."

Tina Penn said her son, who had a gun pointed at his chest in the sweep, is having trouble sleeping and doesn't want to go to school anymore.

"I'm scared for him to go to school. These students are taught to respect the principal, respect their teachers, respect police officers. It's very difficult."