Posted on 01/30/2003 6:14:13 AM PST by FITZ
More than 100 police officers, some in full riot gear, fought, used pepper spray and arrested several students who had gathered in a crowd of about 1,000 outside Montwood High School on Wednesday morning to protest a class scheduling proposal.
At least 20 students, four officers and four school security officials suffered minor injuries in what El Paso police described as a riot.
"Things just got out of control. The police started hitting everybody, boys and girls." said Laura Manriquez, 15, a freshman. "The students were throwing paper at them, but the police were spraying and chasing kids down in the halls."
Several students were arrested, and the campus was locked down as concerned parents flocked to the scene and later complained that police overreacted and used excessive force on the students.
Police said their actions were appropriate.
Officers were called to disperse the crowd of students at 12000 Montwood after some of them started throwing rocks and soda cans at security officials, a school district spokeswoman said.
School was expected to resume today for the school's 2,800 students, some of whom said they might walk out again.
The fear of another confrontation alarmed parents, who questioned sending their children to school for the rest of the week. Campus officials planned to talk to the students about their concerns and will meet with parents Friday, officials said.
The incident began about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, when students gathered outside the school and chanted, "Leave Montwood alone," expressing disapproval for a proposal from the Socorro school district to shift all its middle and high schools to a block-scheduling format, which consists of four 90-minute classes every other day.
"It's time to let the students have a voice too," shouted José Lopez, a junior and JROTC student who helped organize the protest. "We're not going to class until that happens."
As frenzied students cheered, laughed and slam-danced, Montwood High Assistant Principal Ralph Reyna and campus security personnel tried to disperse the crowd without success.
"Everyone has the freedom of expression," Reyna said, snaking his way through the crowd. "They have that right, they've done that, and we've listened to them. Now it's time for them to get back to class."
That's when Socorro Independent School District officials called for reinforcements from the police, said district spokeswoman Minerva Baumann, who said students began throwing wads of paper, rocks and cans of soda.
Thirty minutes into the protest, about 20 police officers, already on the scene, some with batons, formed a line and surged forward, pushing the students toward the building.
Several students were pulled away from the front line of the protest and forced to the ground, and several more were pepper-sprayed as police continued forward, gaining reinforcements from patrol, traffic and tactical units from every police regional command center in El Paso.
Additional police officers, some dressed in full-riot gear, chased the scattered remnants of the rally across the campus and through the school's hallways while Montwood High administrators scrambled to gather students into their classrooms.
Seven juveniles and six adults were arrested, including a school employee, police spokesman Javier Sambrano said. Though police did not release the names of the people detained, students said the employee arrested is a teacher.
Sambrano said those taken into custody were charged with rioting, a class B misdemeanor. In addition, one student was charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer and another with resisting arrest and possession of marijuana in a drug-free zone.
Principal Phil Hatch said the school will investigate the incident before taking action against students or employees.
Sambrano said 20 students were treated by paramedics at the campus. Four students were taken to the Montwood Wellness Center, a clinic at the campus, and two went to Del Sol Medical Center -- one suffering from back pain and the other from eye irritation from the pepper spray -- he said.
Christopher Muñoz, a junior, said he participated briefly in the walk-out and returned to class when he was confronted by police.
"They were pretty much manhandling people," he said. "One of my friends got hit across the face with one of their rods. He was hurting. It (face) was real red, and it was swollen."
Students said school officials ordered a lockdown, confining the students to their classrooms and temporarily shutting down the air conditioning and lights. They were later escorted out one classroom at a time.
Parents kept the school's phone system busy as news of the clash spread across the city. Those who arrived at Montwood were greeted by police, El Paso County Sheriff Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety. A police helicopter circled the area.
Eva Pepi, whose son was detained, said officers would not let her speak to him.
"I got here, and they didn't let me in, so I called my son on his cell phone." she said. "He told me they hit him and put spray in his eyes. I didn't realize how close I was to him until I saw a police officer smack the phone out of his hand and call him stupid. I asked him why he was treating him that way, and he said, 'Because he's under arrest.' "
Police said they received several phone calls of support and only one complaint on the situation.
"The Police Department feels the incident was handled swiftly and safely," said Detective Darrel Petry, department spokesman. "We feel we handled the situation professionally and with minimal amount of injuries."
Diana Moser, whose two children attend Montwood High School, watched the events unfold from across the street. She believes the students took on an unfair burden -- a fight that should have fallen to teachers.
"This was incited by teachers that don't want to have to spend more time in the classroom and not get paid for it," Moser said. "Don't incite kids to do this because, of course, it is going to get out of hand. They are kids."
The cops are in trouble, however. They should have known that it was only paper being thrown at them and, before taking action, called the Mexican Consulate so these kids would have had proper representation. This would be a great time to deport a dozen of the activist-rioters who are also illegals.
They'll probably be getting involved ----you're right, most of these kids would be under the jurisdiction of the Mexican government according to President Fox anyhow.
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