Police put down riot at high school

Heres a live leak video showing some of the arrest being made .There were definately a lot of police.
www.liveleak.com...
and video from live leak
www.liveleak.com...
Just seen some video from inside school from cellphone vid. Trying to track down a way to post. Miami Hearld has videos on there site also.
www.miamiherald.com...
[edit on 29-2-2008 by JBA2848]

[edit on 29-2-2008 by JBA2848]

Originally posted by JBA2848
Here are some facts about the school in this article.

Graduation Rate: 29%

Student/Teacher Ratio: 16 Students : 1 Teacher

This school trully is not doing to good on teaching students.

Yeah seriously... this school sounds like it was in bad need of a protest. Maybe the kids aren't 'problem kids' but just want their school to shape up.

I know firsthand that when a school is failing to keep the kids in and graduate them, the schoolboard looks to blame the children first, when usually, the school itself is just a miserable environment and the staff is too overwhelmed to re-think their curriculum.

Also, 'no child left behind' makes it almost impossible for schools to 'fix' themselves.

reply to post by NewWorldOver

yvettelabov.imeem.com...

I guess the teachers didn't have the cops called on them when they protested. They want a raise but look at the graduation rates and show me where the deserve it.

I know it sounds stupid about having the police at a high school protest, but what if it turned violent? What if someone did bring a gun and things got a little tense with another student/teacher and he shot them? Then everyone would be up in arms about how the police should have been doing their job in being there.

We really don't know why they got arrested, but the girl could have spit on the police officer or was trying to start trouble. I personally think these tests are great. When I was in high school hardly anyone studied. Why study when they can have fun? There is just a serious lack of wanting a future with this generation. All about how they can get by without doing any work and have the most fun. Living off unemployment? Free money while they are out getting smashed and having sex.

The tests and teachers aren't a problem. If the teachers were teaching nothing but the tests then that is a whole school year to get down the 2 sections of the test you have to pass. It's the lack of wanting a future.

Heres some of the quotes from the papers.

The disturbance followed a sit-in demonstration held during the school's first lunch block about 11:30 a.m., schools spokesman Quintin Taylor said. They were protesting the treatment of an Edison senior who was arrested at school Thursday.

The demonstrating students met in a small spillover space in the courtyard, Taylor said. It was unclear how many students participated, though about 400 were present in the cafeteria.

Within minutes, some 60 to 70 police cruisers -- from Miami, Miami-Dade and schools police -- had converged on the school.

Police and students gave conflicting accounts about what happened next.

Miami-Dade schools Cmdr. Charles Hurley described Friday's demonstration as a ``student protest, not well planned, sponsored or recognized.''

''This grew very ugly,'' Hurley said. ``Officers were pelted with bottles, books. Students became very unruly.''

But Sabrina Francois, a 16-year-old Edison junior, said violence ensued only when police showed up.

Police ''Tasered a student; they hit a pregnant girl with a stick,'' Sabrina said. ``Even if they were just standing by, they hit so many girls. They didn't notify the parents.''

Speaking earlier to reporters, Hurley denied that Tasers were used.

Jenson Dolce, an 18-year-old senior, sustained a hand injury that required stitches. He called his mother, who took him to the hospital.

Officers ''pushed me into a fire extinguisher trying to contain the crowd,'' Dolce said. ``The kids were throwing food -- milk, yogurt -- at the police.''

60 to 70 police cruisers thats a little overkill ya think, I'll post the cellphone vid when I find a usable link.

unrelated to the school but watch how easy they will spray anybody at a scene.fr.truveo.com...
Thought this showed how they perform there duties at disturbances.

Originally posted by JBA2848
Heres some of the quotes from the papers.

''This grew very ugly,'' Hurley said. ``Officers were pelted with bottles, books. Students became very unruly.''

But Sabrina Francois, a 16-year-old Edison junior, said violence ensued only when police showed up.

Officers ''pushed me into a fire extinguisher trying to contain the crowd,'' Dolce said. ``The kids were throwing food -- milk, yogurt -- at the police.''

That's nice police show up to make sure it's under control due to about 400 students just converging in one area that no one knew about. 50-60 cruisers seems like overkill till you realize if there are 2 people per cruiser your looking at roughly 100 police officers to control 400 people. I'm gonna guess that they didn't want to use force. Of course they did which is BS unless they felt their life was in danger, but still cops show up to make sure it doesn't get out of control and the kids just start pelting them with stuff?

Sounds like the kids really wanted to keep it peaceful Or maybe they were just pissed they didn't or won't get to graduate.

[edit on 29-2-2008 by ParanormalShiver]

Cellphone vid from inside school during events.www.miamiherald.com...
Doesn't seem like the students were doing the rioting that caused 60 to 70 police cruisers to show up after all.But I guess it naver hurts to use battons and mase to keep in practice.

Meh, I don't understand all this "POLICE STATE" yelling.

You put people in a crazy situation and people do crazy things. Thats why this got out of hand.

Maybe I'm just used to hearing about riots at schools and people being maced and such. After Katrina alot of N.O kids and other kids clashed in my local schools into massive riots. Police often had to come in to untangle the violence.

I don't beileve that some man was just like "Protestors! Oh noes! Send in the police!"

reply to post by ParanormalShiver


See newest post above this one.
It's a cellphone vid from inside the school.

reply to post by JBA2848


I can hardly make a thing out of that video. It looks like it played part of the video twice in fact. Plus it said a small spill over in courtyard, do those go to what looks like a small class room? I'm just saying everyone is going to jump on the police for this one, but if they weren't there and something happened guess who's fault it would be

Originally posted by JBA2848
Heres some of the quotes from the papers.

So there we have it. Not a single violent outburst reported among ANY of the students.

I was right. The police showed up to stifle free-thinking and anti-authoritarian behavior. What a joke.

I would have been one of the students throwing things at the police as well. Go do what we pay you to do, scumbags.

Anymore than 3 units is a complete joke. 50-60? For 400 kids?

The only word for that is pathetic. The police are trying to flex their muscle in numbers and come off looking like complete fruitcakes. They deserve what they got. They shouldn't have laid a hand on ANY students.

Teen shot at Norland Thursday recovering

Javaris Cross, devout Baptist teenager, gospel fan, musician, was helping to break up a fight outside the Miami Norland Senior High band room when students began stampeding.

He ran, too. Then someone noticed the blood.

Javaris had been shot in the left ear.

His shooting Thursday -- he'll survive -- marked the second attack at a North Miami-Dade school over two days.

Could this be why thy responded in such numbers? 2 incidents in 2 days? More info on the other incident in the news story.

The cellphone video shows quite clearly that there was no "riot" in progress. So what we have here, is a clear case of the police being called in to enforce school rules. This is waht happens when you have schools that have their own police/security staff. "Go to class or go to jail," is about the sum of it. If the student does not follow the instructions of the officer, the officer will force the student to comply, and has the force of the entire Miami-Dade Police Department as backup. The more you resist authority, the more authorities will arrive, and force you to submit to their will. It's as simple as that.

Now you have to ask yourself if the will of the authority figures was justified. In a city where there was a school related shooting the day before, and in a country where school shootings have become all too frequent, there certainly must be some cause for concern. And even aside from that, large crowds that gather without planning and organization can be quite dangerous as well. Not necessarily even to the community at large, but to those who gather. Think of a poorly planned concert, and the consequences that can have. Anything from overflowing porta-potties, to fire-traps that cost lives.

[edit on 2/29/0808 by jackinthebox]

Originally posted by WorldShadow
OOOOHH! big tough cops storm trooping the school for some little kids protesting how the school now decide who graduates.

Looks like kids want in on the action now days. Hey, what the heck, if something is not right, form a protest and make your voices heard.

So a couple of toughs with stinking badges grab a girl and haul her off and the kids didn't like it. I bet those two toughs won't try that again without some serious backup in that school again.

"Little kids"? Senior high school, at least the last time I checked, was grades 9-12, which means ages between 14 and 18. Not exactly "little kids".

60-70 cruisers doesn't seem too over-the-top to me, either. Some of those cruisers (and the police in them) are going to be cordoning the area off, and doing traffic-control duty on streets around the building. Around 100 police to face off 400 students doesn't seem like 'excessive force'. One thing to remember, folks...schools have changed a lot in recent years, and not for the better. Even in small-town schools, the fights are becoming more frequent, and more violent. Death threats to faculty members are a weekly, if not daily event in some schools. Given conditions like that, I can see a school administrator coming down *hard* on an unexpected gathering of 400 or so students...and I can see the police reacting with a certain amount of force that would have (in my school days) have been way over the top.

reply to post by Brother Stormhammer


Here is a incident that happened in California. Except there the students are trained better in how a police state works. Repot of a gun and just line them all up hands on there heads and march them off to be searched . And I only seen four police cruisers in front of the school in the picture.
heres the link theres a video on the page
www.latimes.com...

Perhaps the school admin. called in law enforcement because they feared for their own safety. In light of the students' unhappy situation with their test results this could be a valid point.

These "young adults" have a right to be upset but not released from their participation in getting failing grades. Students shouldn't have to come to the end of their academic years only to realize they can't pass muster and get their diploma.

We voting adults have got to make some significant changes to the educational system and do it NOW...not 5, 10, 15 years down the road.

I truly feel sympathy for these youngsters. High-school for me was completely different than it is these days.

Look, I'm not the biggest fan of the police. I've been teargassed and pushed around in my time, and I've seen my fair share of police "enthusiasm" - as I'm sure many other members of ATS have. But this story shows more about the current state of Edison High Scool, in particular, and Miami schools in general, and less about the existance of any sort of police state.

A police response is based on the call they get. If the admin had called in saying something like "Hey can you guys send down a squad car to give us a hand," I'm sure that's what would have happened. Instead, the administration described the situation as a bit more out of hand, and the department responded in kind.

Plus, the article points out that neither tasers nor rounds were fired. Other than the heavy-handed arrests - though objectionable - I don't see anything that would be extremely excessive.

Besides, isn't this kind of baiting the opposition? You engage in some sort of public disobediance, putting the State in some a situation where they have to react, and then call them on said reaction? You can't put yourself in a situation where you might have to defend yourself against aggression, and then complain that you had to defend yourself against aggression.

What we should be discussing here, and some posters have already commented on this, is the object of the protest, not the protest itself.

www.miamiherald.com...
Seems as though this might start up again on monday. Found this article from yhe Miami Hearld which says they plan on having another protest monday across the street from the school. I guess the cops can have fun with arresting kids again this time for truancy and illegal protesting. They might try and arrest some parents for allowing kids to skip school and endangering there welfare by letting them atend a protest.
I'm not saying the kids are innocent, but i definitely don't think the school and cops are either. Someone has to step in and dolve some of the problems going on on Miami before people start getting killed.