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Schools

Pepper spray used to break up school fight

An officer ends a fight between four girls at Dunedin High, but sickens 47 onlookers.

By JONATHAN ABEL, Times Staff Writer
Published October 26, 2007

School officials and emergency workers gather in front of Duendin High School Thursday after Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies arrested four girls, two 14 year olds and two 16 year olds, who reportedly started a fight in a courtyard during a break after fourth period at the school in Dunedin.
	[Douglas R. Clifford | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Douglas R. Clifford | Times] Students at Dunedin High said two school resource officers used pepper spray and a taser to subdue the combatants. Officials said over twenty students and faculty were treated for exposure to the pepper spray.

The screaming, punching and hair pulling quickly drew a crowd of more than 200.

Two school resource officers standing nearby tried to break up the fight. Then one of them unleashed his pepper spray.

The girls stopped fighting. But coughing and crying quickly spread through the crowd as nearly 50 onlookers were exposed to the orange mist of peppery pain.

Paramedics from the Dunedin Fire Department and Sunstar treated 47 staffers and students for exposure to the spray, getting them to fresh air and flushing their skin with water.

Two school staffers had to be transported to local hospitals with minor injuries.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, the melee began as two fights. It was the result of an ongoing feud among the four girls -- two 14-year-olds and two 16-year-olds -- who were all arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Sheriff's officials are withholding the names of the girls because they are juveniles charged with misdemeanors.

But the incident affected a sizable number of students, who gathered to watch the fracas near the cafeteria during a break between fourth and fifth period.

When the spray was discharged, students and staffers scattered throughout the courtyard, covering their eyes with their hands, according to witnesses. A few intrepid chroniclers captured the event on phone-mounted videocameras.

"After the cops sprayed, everyone was just running," said John Coudoux, 14, one of many students buzzing about the fight after school.

"All my friends in my next period came in coughing with tears in their eyes," said Corinn Dominguez, 15.

The active ingredient in pepper spray is typically oleoresin capsicum, which is a derivative of hot cayenne peppers.

The cloud of spray comes out of a canister. The mist settles over its target, but can also affect people nearby who breathe it or get it on their skin. When the spray contacts the mucous membranes, symptoms appear immediately. The capillaries of the eyes dilate, causing temporary blindness. Inflammation of the breathing tube tissues make it difficult to breathe. The painful, if short-lived, effects include burning, coughing, gagging and shortness of breath.

Matt Loeffler, 15, was one of the students who caught residual effects from the spray.

"I was coughing for a little while," he said. "Everyone around me was doing it, too. I just thought it could be handled better than that."

Officials at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office found no fault with the way the incident was treated.

"It appears that the deputies were acting in accordance with the agency's policy when they acted to stop the physical combat between the girls," said spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda.

She pointed to the Sheriff's Office policy book, which allows the use of "less lethal force" in confrontational crowd situations and "whenever necessary to immediately cease or prevent physical combat, violent acts against a member, other persons or property, or self-inflicted injury."

Pinellas School Board spokeswoman Andrea Zahn said school rules do not govern the use of pepper spray by officers. The decision to use the spray rests with the law enforcement agencies.

"We trust that the school resource officers used appropriate and necessary measures to maintain campus security," she said, adding this incident, like all incidents, would be reviewed.

The Sheriff's Office school resource officers are similar to its patrol deputies. They carry guns, wear the same uniforms and have the same law enforcement background. Instead of patrolling a neighborhood, however, they are based in schools. They also receive additional training in dealing with children.

Jonathan Abel can be reached at jabel@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4157.

[Last modified October 25, 2007, 23:56:21]