And so goes the war on drugs, regardless of who gets hurt...

I don't think the cops really thought they would actually find drugs, esp. the way they came charging in. I think the whole thing was a message that they're being watched. So they'll be a little more nervous about doing drugs in the hallways because they now know that the cameras are being watched by more than just the office clerks.

Didn't one of the stories state that students were hiding their activites from that cameras they knew were there? I would suspect that these are not hidden cameras because they do want the deterance factor.

Dan

Hi, Diana.

>>I don't think the cops really thought they would actually find drugs, esp. the way they came charging in. I think the whole thing was a message that they're being watched. <<
If you're right, IMCO it only makes the whole operation even more egregious and less justifiable!
-- Dave K.
Speakeasy Moderator
click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

The opinions expressed above are my own,
and do not necessarily reflect those of CNET!

Even if they had a fricking truck load of meth or crack, their methods weren't justified! It's exactly as we learned the cops in Chile during Pinochet, to handle things! No difference at all!

is that so?

*try telling that to parents who lost kids to drugs*

This is a subject that can go on and on and on! And it has gone on and on and on and it is a very good thread AAMOF!

I understand that there are a lot of youngsters getting trapped in the horrible life of drugs! But I would like to know WHY they are falling into this lifestyle? Do you think that the agitation of the Western world to live up to the ideal that the PTB have set could be a reason? Do you think that the kids that feel that they don?t have a future due to the fact that they cannot live up to the expectations of the society has something to do with the abuse? I am not saying that is the case all the time, but I am sure that a lot of the kids feel hopelessness and try to escape from that hopelessness. There is a social factor involved in drug abuse, whether you want to admit it or not!
I have mentioned this before and I won't get tired of saying it over and over again.

There was a commercial a while back that said that 40% of drug use occurred in the inner city areas (not sure about exact number but I think it was in the 40s). The punch line of the commercial was that the rest was in the suburbs. What social factors force middle/upper class youth to use drugs? What social factors force Hollywood stars to use drugs? I think social factors play more of a role in who is dealing or who is arrested than who is using or who gets addicted.

I don't know where you live, but let's take the example of NYC. Where would you prefer your kids to grow up? In the Housing projects in Coney Island (a vast majority are black kids that don't even finish hig-school or can afford to go to University) or at Park Avenue (which mostley has very wealthy families) in a condo? And why?

They're more likely to fight you using a lawyer than a gun. Both areas are likely to have drug problems, though.

that any of us in this thread other than you would even WANT to be in NYC, much less live there. That's like asking if one prefers drinking water from the toilet or the downspout.

take NYC, PLEASE!

.

Jonah, the NAACP said "There was no reported effort to search arriving personal vehicles, the predominant mode of transportation for white students.". But they overlook the warrant problem in their haste to play the "race card".
In the case of the building, the Principal asked them to come in. This is like a citizen inviting the police to search their house. In that case, they didn't need a warrant.
Searching the cars as they drove in is another warrant ball of wax. To search each one would have required a separrate warrant. The U.S. law does not allow for such a "fishing expedition" nor a blanket warrant. Remember when they apprehended the D.C. snipers in that public rest area on a freeway. Once they had arrested them and the situation was secure, they got a warrant to search that car.
Before somebody brings up DUI roadblocks as are seen over here at holidays, that check allows them to check the person, plainly visible aspects of the car, and/or licenses, etc., but does not give them the automatic right to search those cars. Note: in those cases, they may take notice of, and legally deal with, anything that they see that is in plain sight. A search of the car and/or trunks requires permission of the driver or a warrant if that driver won't give that permission.
BTW: U.S. Customs does not have the requirement to get a warrant (in the performance of their duties), something unique to that agency.

did i miss something here?
are we talking about an all black school?

#while the black kids are threatened at gun-point#

what IS amazing is the way you ignore the rest of the article!

or maybe you didn't..... maybe it's ok with you that the rest of the kids may be in danger from drugs, but YOU want to protect the "black kids" from "SOCIAL INJUSTICE"!!!

B/S!!!!!

Uh, Jonah.

"Amazing" is right. Two arrests for drugs in two months in a school that size is WAY below the national average. IMCO there was a much greater danger to the students from police dogs and cops with drawn guns (and being manhandled) than from drugs -- and that's without any consideration of the outrageous violation of the students' civil rights. I guess I'm just naive -- I find it totlally incomprehensible that anyone would find such actions tolerable, much less acceptable.
-- Dave K.
Speakeasy Moderator
click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

The opinions expressed above are my own,
and do not necessarily reflect those of CNET!

Hmmmm.....Spybot blocked the page from opening so I couldn't read the article. Anything funky about that web page? Or another source perhaps for the article?

Thank you, Edward. The first link seemed the most objective. My opinion -- Blake is exaggerating and using a lot of hyperbolic language but overall I agree that the police action was likely excessive and that the problem could have been dealt with in a more targeted manner. If they had the suspected dealers under surveillance, then they knew who they were after and didn't need to subject the (likely) innocent to this.

Blake's exaggerating, Dave's doing his usual selective reading and Jonah really needs to tone it down, as the good points he does make are lost in the noise of the personal animus between he and Blake.

That said, what amazes me is: 1) that the police didn't have some form of perimeter set up around the school to stop the little darlings from fleeing the premises, divesting themselves of the dope while doing so, and 2) that the police would be so abusive when there was no reason to do so, and where they were under camera surveillance.

I know that the courts have held that students do not have as much leeway while in school as they do when not there. I believe that is a proper decision. I also believe that the police ran amok here - for very little gain that I can see.

#Blake's exaggerating, Dave's doing his usual selective reading - Paul C#

#Based on this statement, can we safely assume that you didn't see the video of this event? I did and so did millions of other Americans. Based on what we witnessed, I doubt that many would consider anything we've stated as an exaggeration#

have you forgotten what you wrote? have you forgotten that you linked to an article that was totally different from what you wrote? have you forgotten that you twisted the 'facts' as stated in that article?

absolutely no doubt about it. You were also misquoting and or misrepresenting events that actually happened.

hoisted yourself on your own petard yet again...

Speaking of stretching the truth a wee bit, do you think the darling of the right, GW, did any of that with his claims of WMD??????

too bad they didn't

I too wondered a bit about the students reporting other students tossing drugs about. Containment apparently was either not considered or someone(s) showed up late or not at all.

I don't get the impression that they're going to use these guys on many police training tapes unless it is in the 'before' capacity.

Dan

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