The Temecula Valley School District, California – have sued Riverside County and the Sheriff’s Department. This is in connection with the ongoing lawsuit by a student who was arrested in an undercover school drug operation.
Autism Daily Newscast reported on this story last November and can be read here
Doug and Catherine Snodgrass’ young son, 17 who has autism, sued the district in October after he was accused of selling a small amount of marijuana to a county deputy posing as a student at Chaparral High School.
The Press – Enterprise website report that the lawsuit accuses officials of:
‘negligence, alleging district officials authorized a drug sting targeting the teen even though they knew he suffers from disabilities and was in special education.’
Catherine and Doug Snodgrass, have said their son is “permanently scarred” from what has happened and that they hope the lawsuit will send a message to all schools in the country that such drug busts will not be tolerated.
The Sheriff’s Department has been conducting undercover drug investigations in high schools for the past few years and always with the cooperation of school districts. Two schools are chosen each year.
Catherine and Doug claim that the deputy’s tactics were inappropriate because of their son’s marked disabilities. They said their son is not a drug dealer and that:
‘he was hounded by the undercover deputy to get him marijuana and, desperate for a friend, he eventually complied.’
A juvenile court judge dismissed the criminal charges against the student in July after a six-month probationary period.
The original article by Sarah Burge on The Press – Enterprise website can be read here