On Wednesday, a middle school student filed a lawsuit claiming he felt humiliated and traumatized after being taken to a vice principal’s office where he was made to strip in front of classmates who accused him of possessing marijuana.
The seventh-grade student stated that he continues to experience emotional distress as his peers mockingly refer to him as Superman, relating to the underwear he wore during the strip search.
The student is pursuing unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the Clayton County, Georgia school district.
Since the incident, his classmates have teasingly called him ‘Superman’ due to the Superman underpants he had on.
Official representatives from Clayton County schools did not promptly respond to requests concerning the lawsuit lodged in federal court.
Identified in court documents as D.H., the student reported that on February 8, 2011, officials at Eddie White Academy initially conducted strip searches on three other students based on suspicions of marijuana possession. One of these students later accused D.H. of having drugs, prompting his removal to then-vice principal Tyrus McDowell’s office.
While D.H.’s pockets and book bag were searched in front of the three classmates, nothing was found, as stated in the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, even after one student admitted to lying about D.H. having drugs, the search proceeded despite D.H.’s pleas to be allowed to go to the bathroom for privacy.
He was subsequently instructed to strip, and once again, no drugs were discovered.
‘The strip searches were conducted intentionally, willfully, wantonly, maliciously, recklessly, sadistically, and deliberately, with a callous disregard for their consequences,’ the lawsuit claims, which also names the county’s sheriff’s department and Ricky Redding, the school’s resource officer, as defendants.
The student’s attorney, Gerry Weber, pointed out a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling asserting that school officials are prohibited from conducting even partial strip searches of students, even with probable cause.
Weber previously litigated a case nearly ten years ago where the federal appeals court in Atlanta determined that a mass strip search of students in Clayton County was unconstitutional, infringing on their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.
‘This feels like déjà vu,’ Weber remarked. ‘It is simply astonishing that students are still being subjected to strip searches in Clayton County schools.’
According to the lawsuit, Redding, who was implicated in the search, was terminated approximately a month later, while McDowell was placed on administrative leave before later resigning.
Redding refrained from commenting, and McDowell was unavailable for contact.
Angela Dawson, the student’s mother, expressed concerns about her son’s ongoing struggle to recover.
‘This incident has shattered the very foundation of my child’s education, as he must believe in the integrity of what schools teach him. Now, after being stripped of both his clothes and dignity, he questions their intentions,’ she stated. ‘His trust is irreparably damaged.’
by Sasha Dubronitz
