N. Charleston school bus fracas prompts abuse charges; police say rough arrests were necessary
A Black Lives Matter group in the Charleston area is urging a show of support for six students arrested Thursday on a North Charleston school bus by police, whom they say were roughly treated, according to the Charleston Post and Courier.
Police counter the students were fighting each other, kicked the driver and blocked or attacked officers — including tearing off body cameras and throwing them to the ground — as the officers tried to break up the fight.
Cellphone video with no audio posted by the BLM group shows a student described as trying to prevent himself from being identified. He is kicked by an officer in the officers’ attempt to subdue, and eventually brought to the ground and handcuffed.
A bystander who responded to the Facebook post said she stepped in to help the students was instead cursed by them. She described them as “disruptive and disrespectful.” The students were three 16-year-old boys and three girls, two 15 and one 16. All are charged with interfering with the operation of a school bus. One also is charged with simple assault because of his interaction with the bus driver. Three of the six students arrested are charged with assaulting police officers, according to the newspaper.
According to the police report, the driver, a 34-year-old white woman, said she was kicked and cursed at by students who said they wanted “a black bus driver.” She said the students had been attacking fellow students and pulling down each others’ pants.
Read more about the incident here.
This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 6:44 PM with the headline "N. Charleston school bus fracas prompts abuse charges; police say rough arrests were necessary."