Article linked from 89.3 KPCC Southern California Public Radio 01/28/2010: 

As the Los Angeles Unified School Districts seeks a new chief for its police department, student rights advocates today called for an overhaul to the way the department carries out its mission.

The coalition of activist groups released a report based on 1,500 student surveys. A ninth-grade boy talked about the way officers handcuffed him after he showed up late to school. A 12th-grade female said an officer used mace and excessive force on her friend.

Lawyer Ruth Cusick says the nearly 500-officer department operates with little oversight or transparency. She hopes L.A. Unified’s board members and superintendent regard the selection of the new chief as an opportunity, "to really look at how the department has been run and how information has been given to the community and how we can improve the department so that we do have the mission of the officers really helping students and school communities."

L.A. Unified administrators and L.A. School Police were not available for comment. The student rights coalition is part of a national effort to encourage alternative discipline policies in large urban school districts.

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