Students vs Police
- Thread starter Road Warrior
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That's right ! Don't mess with the 5.0 playa
X-Punisher
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I can smell the ******** commin' out of that girls mouth when she said the police officers punched a pregnant girl in the stomach. I also think the students were lying when the police officers used tasers on them. Watching the video interviewing the girls who were there was hilarious.
Victor Creed
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Tear gas ftw!
Catman
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Victor Creed
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It's one of those situations where people think their children can do no wrong. Ignorance is bliss, and the easiest ones to blame are those of authority like the police.
Catman
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You can't back anybody. It's a classic case of "he said-she said". None of us REALLY know who started the fight. Unless the school decides to release surveillance tapes we won't know if the cops or kids started the fight.
Road Warrior
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Posted on Sat, Mar. 08, 2008
School fracas a tough lesson in civics
BY KATHLEEN McGRORY
On the day before their school was wracked by a lunch-hour brawl that landed on CNN, a group of students at Miami Edison Senior High School gathered in a classroom, highlighters in hand.
They weren't studying for mid-terms.
Outraged by allegations that an assistant principal had manhandled a student -- claims fed and forwarded by a round of late-afternoon text-messaging -- the students were poring over copies of the Miami-Dade Schools Employee Code of Ethics.
That afternoon, they printed up fliers listing their rights as students and organized a demonstration.
''We knew we had to protest,'' said Deshawn Johnson, 18. ``If not, nothing would be done to right the wrong.''
Within minutes, however, the Friday protest had escalated into a fracas involving hundreds of students and scores of police officers. The disturbance, in which some students threw food or books at police or spat at them, made headlines across the country. All told, more than two dozen students were arrested; at least 10 officers and six students were injured.
While many details are murky, police reports and interviews with students, educators, police officers and district officials reveal some of the factors that contributed to the incident.
As for the spark that spurred the protest -- a physical confrontation between Assistant Principal Javier Perez and senior Wadson Sagaille -- several adult and student witnesses interviewed by The Miami Herald contradicted the police report and said Perez was the aggressor.
Moreover, students and instructors have said the student body was primed to protest. Many had just finished a lesson in civil disobedience. Others had held smaller demonstrations in the school before -- including one that focused on the price of pizza.
''The students that I know that were involved were good students who didn't have police records,'' said Scott Miller, a geometry teacher.
In fact, many of the initial protest's organizers were honors students at Edison -- the kids whose test scores finally helped lift the school from an F to a high D on the FCAT last year, after years of trying.
The achievement drew a visit from Gov. Charlie Crist last year; this year, the school is a finalist for two national school-improvement awards.
The student body was focused on becoming a C school -- a focus that shifted at least a bit after the confrontation Thursday between Perez and Sagaille.
HOW IT BEGAN
It began just after lunch.
Perez, 35, was walking a hallway that should have been deserted -- and found Sagaille, a 17-year-old senior, out of class.
The assistant principal approached Sagaille and asked him where he was going, according to the account Miami-Dade school officials have given. Neither Perez nor Sagaille would comment for this story.
The exact content of their hallway exchange remains unclear, but it ended with Sagaille leaving. He arrived alone at classroom F211, a space used by a college prep program. He sat down in front of a computer to check his scores on the ACT, a college-entrance test.
A half-hour later, Perez entered, witnesses said, trailed by Miami-Dade Schools Officer Einsley Joseph.
Joseph's official report says Sagaille tried to run when he saw Perez. But when he saw Joseph blocking the door, the teen grabbed the assistant principal ''by his neck and pushed him back off his feet,'' the report said. It said Joseph tried to restrain Sagaille, who got away and bolted from the classroom.
The police report makes no mention of Perez -- six feet tall and 190 pounds -- getting physical with Sagaille, who weighs 135 pounds.
Adult and student witnesses in the classroom gave a sharply different account.
''Mr. Perez came into the classroom without saying a word and grabbed the boy from behind,'' said one adult contract employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of being fired. ``He threw his arm around the boy's chest and pulled him up.''
Laniece Sands, a 17-year-old senior, said she and her classmates were shocked to see the assistant principal ''put his hands'' on a student.
Perez ''didn't say anything,'' she said. ``He came up behind Wadson and put his arm across his chest.''
Joseph tried to break up the tussle but could not, the witnesses said.
Two employees said Perez pushed Sagaille up against a metal storage cabinet.
''At one point, Mr. Perez almost lost his balance,'' one employee said. ``Mr. Perez regained his balance and pushed Wadson right up against the cabinet.''
Said senior Yanique Charles, 17: ``Perez banged [Sagaille's] head up against the wall.''
Sagaille got free and ran into the hall, witnesses said.
Joseph's police report says Perez and Joseph caught up with the teen soon after that in classroom G203.
Joseph asked Sagaille to come to the assistant principal's office, but the teen refused, the report said. Joseph then attempted to arrest Sagaille. While he was being handcuffed, the teen ''damaged several computers and kicked out a fire extinguisher glass,'' the report said.
Sagaille was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center, where he was charged with battery on a school employee, disrupting a school function, resisting arrest with violence and criminal mischief.
Schools spokesman John Schuster has declined to comment on Thursday's incident.
Superintendent Rudy Crew has said he would like a thorough investigation.
''I really need to know what the assistant principal's role in this was,'' Crew said at a meeting Wednesday with The Miami Herald's editorial board.
NEWS TRAVELS
Word of the arrest spread quickly. At dismissal time, students gathered in small clusters in the halls, upset at what had happened, student Laniece Sands said.
Johnson said he and his friends immediately began talking about a peaceful way to make their voices heard.
Edison students had staged small demonstrations or signed petitions in the past. Earlier this year, they protested an administrative decision to increase the price of pizza; the students mobilized and brought their concerns to the principal.
Also, Black History Month had just come to an end, and the lessons of Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolent campaigns against social injustice were fresh in their minds.
''We had to get organized,'' Johnson said. ``We made signs and talked about how we would do it.''
By Friday's first lunch block -- about 11:20 a.m. -- organizers had circulated fliers urging a ``peaceful protest.''
As lunch commenced, the students took their signs, marker on posterboard, to a small outdoor eating area near the cafeteria.
Four school officers were already present to monitor the situation and answer questions about the previous day's arrest, Miami-Dade Schools Detective Ed Torrens said last week.
Outside, several students grew rowdy.
Details are jumbled, recollections sketchy. It's unclear if the students who began acting up were involved in the demonstration or were just outside to eat their lunch. Regardless, some of them started throwing pizza, yogurt and cartons of milk at the officers.
Others shouted and spit -- and grew aggressive toward police, Torrens said.
Inside the cafeteria, too, the scene became chaotic.
Within minutes, scores of students were on their feet. Someone triggered the fire alarm. Some students hurled textbooks. At least one threw a fire extinguisher at the officers. Others cried and ran down the halls.
''At first, we were laughing and joking; we were just sitting there,'' Johnson said. ``But then there was pushing, and that's when all hell broke loose.''
At some point, the officers radioed for help -- calls went to both the Miami and Miami-Dade police. Within minutes, at least 60 cruisers surrounded the school. Many came from the nearby school police headquarters.
Students have said the police mistreated them by hitting them, pushing them against walls or taking them to the ground forcefully.
The department has declined comment.
Several teens also alleged last week that stun guns and pepper spray were used -- a claim the police departments denied. School police officers do not carry Tasers. And fire-rescue workers did not report any Taser burns or red, irritated skin or teary eyes, the signs of pepper spray.
School police officials declined to comment, citing an open investigation.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also reviewing the three police agencies involved.
In the end, 26 students were arrested. Each was charged with disrupting a school event, rioting and resisting arrest with violence. All have since been released from jail or the Juvenile Assessment Center.
Principal Jean Teal has declined numerous requests to comment.
Pamela Sagaille said she has hired a lawyer for her son.
As for the Edison students involved in the protest, it was a tough lesson in civics.
''We're learning a lot about our rights,'' Johnson said. ``It hasn't been easy.'' Miami Herald staff writers Erika Beras, Trenton Daniel, David Ovalle and Matthew I. Pinzur contributed to this report.
School fracas a tough lesson in civics
BY KATHLEEN McGRORY
On the day before their school was wracked by a lunch-hour brawl that landed on CNN, a group of students at Miami Edison Senior High School gathered in a classroom, highlighters in hand.
They weren't studying for mid-terms.
Outraged by allegations that an assistant principal had manhandled a student -- claims fed and forwarded by a round of late-afternoon text-messaging -- the students were poring over copies of the Miami-Dade Schools Employee Code of Ethics.
That afternoon, they printed up fliers listing their rights as students and organized a demonstration.
''We knew we had to protest,'' said Deshawn Johnson, 18. ``If not, nothing would be done to right the wrong.''
Within minutes, however, the Friday protest had escalated into a fracas involving hundreds of students and scores of police officers. The disturbance, in which some students threw food or books at police or spat at them, made headlines across the country. All told, more than two dozen students were arrested; at least 10 officers and six students were injured.
While many details are murky, police reports and interviews with students, educators, police officers and district officials reveal some of the factors that contributed to the incident.
As for the spark that spurred the protest -- a physical confrontation between Assistant Principal Javier Perez and senior Wadson Sagaille -- several adult and student witnesses interviewed by The Miami Herald contradicted the police report and said Perez was the aggressor.
Moreover, students and instructors have said the student body was primed to protest. Many had just finished a lesson in civil disobedience. Others had held smaller demonstrations in the school before -- including one that focused on the price of pizza.
''The students that I know that were involved were good students who didn't have police records,'' said Scott Miller, a geometry teacher.
In fact, many of the initial protest's organizers were honors students at Edison -- the kids whose test scores finally helped lift the school from an F to a high D on the FCAT last year, after years of trying.
The achievement drew a visit from Gov. Charlie Crist last year; this year, the school is a finalist for two national school-improvement awards.
The student body was focused on becoming a C school -- a focus that shifted at least a bit after the confrontation Thursday between Perez and Sagaille.
HOW IT BEGAN
It began just after lunch.
Perez, 35, was walking a hallway that should have been deserted -- and found Sagaille, a 17-year-old senior, out of class.
The assistant principal approached Sagaille and asked him where he was going, according to the account Miami-Dade school officials have given. Neither Perez nor Sagaille would comment for this story.
The exact content of their hallway exchange remains unclear, but it ended with Sagaille leaving. He arrived alone at classroom F211, a space used by a college prep program. He sat down in front of a computer to check his scores on the ACT, a college-entrance test.
A half-hour later, Perez entered, witnesses said, trailed by Miami-Dade Schools Officer Einsley Joseph.
Joseph's official report says Sagaille tried to run when he saw Perez. But when he saw Joseph blocking the door, the teen grabbed the assistant principal ''by his neck and pushed him back off his feet,'' the report said. It said Joseph tried to restrain Sagaille, who got away and bolted from the classroom.
The police report makes no mention of Perez -- six feet tall and 190 pounds -- getting physical with Sagaille, who weighs 135 pounds.
Adult and student witnesses in the classroom gave a sharply different account.
''Mr. Perez came into the classroom without saying a word and grabbed the boy from behind,'' said one adult contract employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of being fired. ``He threw his arm around the boy's chest and pulled him up.''
Laniece Sands, a 17-year-old senior, said she and her classmates were shocked to see the assistant principal ''put his hands'' on a student.
Perez ''didn't say anything,'' she said. ``He came up behind Wadson and put his arm across his chest.''
Joseph tried to break up the tussle but could not, the witnesses said.
Two employees said Perez pushed Sagaille up against a metal storage cabinet.
''At one point, Mr. Perez almost lost his balance,'' one employee said. ``Mr. Perez regained his balance and pushed Wadson right up against the cabinet.''
Said senior Yanique Charles, 17: ``Perez banged [Sagaille's] head up against the wall.''
Sagaille got free and ran into the hall, witnesses said.
Joseph's police report says Perez and Joseph caught up with the teen soon after that in classroom G203.
Joseph asked Sagaille to come to the assistant principal's office, but the teen refused, the report said. Joseph then attempted to arrest Sagaille. While he was being handcuffed, the teen ''damaged several computers and kicked out a fire extinguisher glass,'' the report said.
Sagaille was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center, where he was charged with battery on a school employee, disrupting a school function, resisting arrest with violence and criminal mischief.
Schools spokesman John Schuster has declined to comment on Thursday's incident.
Superintendent Rudy Crew has said he would like a thorough investigation.
''I really need to know what the assistant principal's role in this was,'' Crew said at a meeting Wednesday with The Miami Herald's editorial board.
NEWS TRAVELS
Word of the arrest spread quickly. At dismissal time, students gathered in small clusters in the halls, upset at what had happened, student Laniece Sands said.
Johnson said he and his friends immediately began talking about a peaceful way to make their voices heard.
Edison students had staged small demonstrations or signed petitions in the past. Earlier this year, they protested an administrative decision to increase the price of pizza; the students mobilized and brought their concerns to the principal.
Also, Black History Month had just come to an end, and the lessons of Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolent campaigns against social injustice were fresh in their minds.
''We had to get organized,'' Johnson said. ``We made signs and talked about how we would do it.''
By Friday's first lunch block -- about 11:20 a.m. -- organizers had circulated fliers urging a ``peaceful protest.''
As lunch commenced, the students took their signs, marker on posterboard, to a small outdoor eating area near the cafeteria.
Four school officers were already present to monitor the situation and answer questions about the previous day's arrest, Miami-Dade Schools Detective Ed Torrens said last week.
Outside, several students grew rowdy.
Details are jumbled, recollections sketchy. It's unclear if the students who began acting up were involved in the demonstration or were just outside to eat their lunch. Regardless, some of them started throwing pizza, yogurt and cartons of milk at the officers.
Others shouted and spit -- and grew aggressive toward police, Torrens said.
Inside the cafeteria, too, the scene became chaotic.
Within minutes, scores of students were on their feet. Someone triggered the fire alarm. Some students hurled textbooks. At least one threw a fire extinguisher at the officers. Others cried and ran down the halls.
''At first, we were laughing and joking; we were just sitting there,'' Johnson said. ``But then there was pushing, and that's when all hell broke loose.''
At some point, the officers radioed for help -- calls went to both the Miami and Miami-Dade police. Within minutes, at least 60 cruisers surrounded the school. Many came from the nearby school police headquarters.
Students have said the police mistreated them by hitting them, pushing them against walls or taking them to the ground forcefully.
The department has declined comment.
Several teens also alleged last week that stun guns and pepper spray were used -- a claim the police departments denied. School police officers do not carry Tasers. And fire-rescue workers did not report any Taser burns or red, irritated skin or teary eyes, the signs of pepper spray.
School police officials declined to comment, citing an open investigation.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also reviewing the three police agencies involved.
In the end, 26 students were arrested. Each was charged with disrupting a school event, rioting and resisting arrest with violence. All have since been released from jail or the Juvenile Assessment Center.
Principal Jean Teal has declined numerous requests to comment.
Pamela Sagaille said she has hired a lawyer for her son.
As for the Edison students involved in the protest, it was a tough lesson in civics.
''We're learning a lot about our rights,'' Johnson said. ``It hasn't been easy.'' Miami Herald staff writers Erika Beras, Trenton Daniel, David Ovalle and Matthew I. Pinzur contributed to this report.
GoldenAgeHero
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man, screw Edison. That school sucks and those dumb-ass students bought it all on themselves and they should be ashamed of pulling out the race card. That school is full ignorants. Thank god my mom took me away from that school when i was a teen.
I saw a news report about it, one of the students who were rioting bought up how he felt like Martin Luther king....
I saw a news report about it, one of the students who were rioting bought up how he felt like Martin Luther king....
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