Every day in Birmingham, Alabama, students run the risk of being sprayed with a dangerous chemical weapon just by attending school, according to attorneys in a federal trial that began this week.
The trial that started Tuesday in Alabama alleges that for years, local police officers stationed in Birmingham City Schools have infringed on the rights of students by excessively using mace and pepper spray as a form of discipline. According to Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Ebony Howard, about 300 high school students have been sprayed with harmful chemicals since 2006. Howard told The Huffington Post at least 1,250 students were likely indirectly exposed to these chemicals over the years.
“The case is obviously about kids and the rights of kids to go to school without fear of being sprayed by mace or pepper spray,” Howard told HuffPost.
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“The ACLU has long been concerned about over policing in schools and police even being at schools, because they do what police do — they use things like mace, they use police tactics to discipline children,” said Watson.
She continued, “I think we need to take a step back and realize how we’re treating our children. They’re not criminals, they’re children who are seeking education and they need to be treated that way.”
