 - Goose Creek HS Drug Sweep Case Sent to Attorney General_files/printerheader.gif)
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| Goose Creek HS Drug Sweep Case Sent to Attorney General |
| (Goose Creek-AP) -- Ninth Circuit Solicitor
Ralph Hoisington says he's asking S.C. Attorney General Henry
McMaster to look into the case of Goose Creek police officers who
conducted a drug sweep at Stratford High School last
month. In that search, officers went into the school with guns drawn and forced students to the floor during the November 5th search. No drugs were found and no one was arrested. Police checked 107 students. 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 last month's search. Hoisington said he thought the officers' methods were "ill-advised." 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. After the review of the tapes and witness interviews, Hoisington was uncertain whether 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. Some students and parents have praised school officials for taking a tough stand on drugs. Others are angry about the use of force and have called for the dismissal of Principal George McCrackin. |