Mar 5, 2008 11:34 pm US/Eastern
Rudy Crew Addresses Edison School Melee Concerns
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Police move in after disturbance at Edison High School
CBS
After Edison Senior High students held a rally outside School Police Headquarters Wednesday evening, parents had their say in a meeting attended by Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Rudy Crew, where he promised a full investigation into last week's melee.
Many parents say they are upset at the way police treated their children during the outdoor melee during lunch break, but Rudy Crew says he is confident in the investigation. He said an independent law enforcement agency will be reviewing the incident, and then based on that he will issue some recommendations.
"This was an unfortunate circumstance, but it is just that, it happened and we're obviously going to do everything that we need to do to investigate it and make sure it never happens again," said Crew.
Students from Miami Edison Senior High joined forces on Wednesday with members of a community activist group to protest the arrests of more than two dozen students last week when a peaceful sit-in turned violent.
A small group met at the headquarters of the school district's police department at 61st Street and Northwest 2nd Avenue.
Power U members brought up an issue concerning Booker T. Washington Senior High. They say the school district's police department had promised to have a restorative justice feasibility study completed in January. In February, Police Chief Gerald Darling told the school board that the study had been completed; but as of March, the group claims no one has seen it.
Tuesday more than a dozen of Miami's community leaders asked faculty, parents and students not to rush to judgment on the actions of law enforcement officers until all the facts were in.
"Sometimes students want to protest, but you have to know how to protest," said Pastor Richard Dunn of P.U.L.S.E.
More than one hundred students held a rally Monday morning in M. Athalie Range Park, on Northwest 62nd Street across from the school, demanding that all charges against their fellow students be dropped and Assistant Principal Javier Perez be fired and then charged for putting a student in a choke hold during a confrontation.
After the rally, Edison's Principal Jean Teal said they would all work together to resolve this matter.
"Our school and our community are working together," said Teal, "to ensure that Miami Edison stays on the positive track that it has been on in previous years. We are looking forward to getting back to a sense of 'normalcy' and start the healing process."
Friday, officers from three departments including the city of Miami and Miami-Dade police were called to the school after a school police officer hit an emergency button and called for backup, saying students were 'rioting' at the school. The melee started shortly after 11 a.m. at lunch when students tried to stage a protest against the arrest Thursday of a student who had tangled with Perez. Students claim they were attacked by police as they tried to stage a peaceful protest, but police say the students became unruly and attacked police officers, throwing chairs, milk cartons and books.
More than two dozen students were arrested and ten police officers were treated for minor injuries.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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