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Students hospitalized after pepper spray incident at a Pine Bluff junior high school


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Reported by: Dustin Barnes
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Updated: 4/06/2012 6:03 pm Published: 4/06/2012 2:38 pm
PINE BLUFF, AR - Pine Bluff police and school leaders will meet next week to determine the fate of a school resource officer who pepper sprayed students to get them to clear the hallway.  Faith Fourney, a student at the school, claims to have witnessed a school resource officer spray.

"Not knowing he was going to spray it I walked straight into it," Forney said.

Not only did she inhale it, but so did several other students. Three went to the hospital, and seventeen others left early.

"Everybody started hollering and we had people just gagging and throwing up and everything and I'm like what's going on?" Forney said.

Superintendent Jerry Payne confirmed a school resource officer did spray and said he did it to force students inside classrooms.  Payne said the students took too long to get to class, so the officer pointed the spray toward the ground, not at students.

"You could have at least said something about keep it moving. But spraying mace? He took it too far with that," said Forney.

Forney described the chaos afterward. Students like her with breathing problems rushed outside.  Parents and emergency crews took over the campus. It's an incident Forney says could have been avoided.

"He really doesn't need to be there because we could have been laying out somewhere to be honest," said Forney.

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el perro feroz - 6/14/2012 10:52 PM
0 Votes
Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty, the obedient must be slaves ~~~ Henry David Thoreau

sapphire1 - 4/23/2012 7:46 PM
0 Votes
FIRE HIS *** AND FIND THAT CORRUPT BRENDA JONES/(accomplice of Barbara Harris/Meyer;sister of pedophile, RUFUS MEYER, here in Chicago!.....THIS 37th ward(Emma Mitts the alderman), has gotten completely outrageous!......People are being kidnapped, threats are made on my landlord and his workers and this Barbara *****, is trying to blame I, because, I'M the one who WHIPPED Brenda Jones, when we were in high school!.....It's really sad(satanic), that these corrupt cops, aren't being prosecuted FASTER!......Robert Buchannan RAPED a little girl in '1997' and they just EXPOSED him, but it's QUIET, when it should be screaming MURDER!...My brother has been retaliated on because of this CORRUPT 15th district cop, who supposedly is a F.B.I. agent......Young gilrs are being trafficked(right out this building where I live, at 1613 N. Leclaire!....My landlord has been assaulted!....His worker has been threatened and EMMA MITTS(alderman of this 37th ward) could care LESS!....I will NOT, be intimidated by ANY JACK***, under ANY circumstances!......The employees at Chester Mental Health Center, are ABUSING patients as if they have a right to and they DON'T!!!!!!!!NOTE: This is how these SATANIZERS are screaming....NOTE: These are true stories of BULLYING that I'm telling about how the patients at CMHC is being systemically BLAMED for gaurds perverted behavior and it MUST be STOPPED and PROSECUTED, as SOON as possible!.....A RALLY is needed at Chester MHC, to EXPOSE those abusive employees!....I'm PLEADING for ALL to HELP I have a VOICE for the patients at CMHC, for DHS and these other 'orgs.', don't give a DAMN(DHS sec., Michelle Saddler!....PLEASE CONTACT I AT (773)622-2906, at ANY time, and HELP I sponsor a RALLY at CMHC!...Patients are DIEING from being FORCED these PSYCHOTROPIC drugs and these 'treatment' teams, are assisting the admin., at COVERING these ABUSES on patients up and have been, for YRS.!...I have, IN MY POSSESSION, MANY med.RECORDS/PHOTOS of INJURIES!

arkansashawk - 4/9/2012 6:06 PM
2 Votes
Police Departments have policies concerning things like deploying pepper spray and tasers. Most Departments say they can only be deployed in extreme situations, this does not qualify as one of those situations. The school and police department have left themselves open for a huge lawsuit. And I am pretty sure that Resource Officer will be fired.

Carlj - 4/8/2012 10:22 PM
1 Vote
Thoze Chilluns needs a spankin'

Lilred - 4/8/2012 1:41 PM
4 Votes
@ ladyofthehill and @ Rodie....people that think like you make me sick. I know for damn sure neither of you have a halo over your head. Thank you Simonhero for speaking some sense. We were all teenagers and we ALL had those moments of "not listening". No one said the kids were not listening either. The reporter wrote the kids were not moving fast enough inbetween class. Who cares...there was no fight to breakup..there was no valid reason for pepper spray. The kids would have made it to their class anyway. This is no reason to blame the parents because the kids were not moving fast enough....that such idiot BS you both are talking. Every school has security or resource officals just to protect the students...not harm them or cause them medical complications. This resource officer should be banned from any position @ a school until he/she has an evaluation.

randalbean - 4/7/2012 1:57 PM
1 Vote
Dear wpsark: The future is here already, and this is a police state. Here in Jefferson County we're living under martial law, but an official announcement about that hasn't been made to the general public by any authority.

simonheros - 4/7/2012 10:53 AM
4 Votes
For everyone who say's "Oh it's the students fault for not moving and not following the rules, it's their fault for getting sprayed". NO. We live in America. We do not simply just FORCE people to do anything. A simple "Get moving" would have worked. But no. Pepper spray shouldn't of been used at all- it's just uncalled for and premature. We were all teenagers. Did you follow every rule? Did you have friends you would talk to for a few seconds? Heck, I think the students probably had plenty of time to get to class and they were just lingering. We were/are all young people right? To even THINK that you people promote a cop to use lethal action on STUDENTS is unethical. Kids have health problems, like the girl in the story had. What if she suffocated on the air and couldn't breathe, leading to her death. WHAT THEN? Would you still promote this? Of course not, someone died. But until then you're gonna support this- this idiocy. It is not "the parents fault" as ladyofthehill says. Teenagers don't always follow rules. Deal with it- we're all people. If I concluded to the idea that being a homosexual is disgusting, as your parent I would teach you this, would you listen to me? Not all parents teach children the right things. There are also no "laws" and "rules" of the "land" in a school. The basic belief of getting to a class is just common sense. What do you expect kids to do? Just stand in a hall way? NO. THEY'RE GONNA GET TO CLASS. RESOURCE OFFICERS ARE NEEDED NO MATTER WHAT. WE HAVE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS BECAUSE IT'S A SCHOOL. No doubt teenagers have problems with others, it's just how the world works. Fox knows that. I hope that officer gets demoted, because he isn't doing his job properly.

jcarpe - 4/7/2012 9:12 AM
0 Votes
Typical reaction,always someone else's fault.Obey the rules and you have no problem.

EXC0P - 4/7/2012 8:02 AM
1 Vote
For everyone else there is aggravated assault, for cops there is...... well nothing really.

ladyofthehill - 4/7/2012 7:00 AM
0 Votes
Parents need to do there job at home and teach their kids to obey the rules and the laws of the land and resource officers wouldn't be needed.
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