At first glance, deputies seemingly handled the April 20 stop of a charter bus transporting the Delaware State University women’s lacrosse team in Liberty County, Georgia, properly, Sheriff William Bowman said recently.
- I stand with Delaware State University! — Bradley Skelcher
- Their issue was with the driver. Look at these guys. Seems to me they were looking to create an issue that didn’t exist. The kids, chaperones and coach handled it correctly, as to not give them a reason to start busting heads. That’s a battle to wage once home, which has begun. I have watched the “sheriff’s” explanation on TV, which seems to have been written for him. Now, since this is Georgia, if this was a busload of White senior citizens heading home from a casino, would this have happened? — Denney Lafferty
- Of course, he would defend his officers. Illegal lane (no buses in a designated lane) doesn’t give them the right to search. Something is fishy. — Melissa Epperly
- Handled correctly? I’m calling BS on this. — Sean Mace
- FYI, it has become standard practice for police officers to search vehicles more frequently that come from states that have lax or passed marijuana-use laws. Individuals should know this by now. For those who are jumping on the race issue, other than the driver, how exactly would police know who’s on that bus? Seriously, stop and think for a second. The side windows are tinted dark. It would be extremely hard to see in the bus from the outside, excluding the driver’s side windows and the windshield. Depending on which state you are in, cops don’t necessarily need probable cause to search your vehicle. That a backup was called in was more than likely because of all the luggage that got searched, and yes, all of them will be armed because they are police. Why is this a shocker to some individuals? I can definitely see why some people are saying this looks fishy. I’m not taking sides, just trying to share some insights into the how and why as a professional driver. The school, the coaches and the parents all have reasons to worry over their students, and to say a search was required for a bus simply traveling in the wrong lane is a major stretch that wouldn’t hold up in most courts. This police department needs to give a better explanation of why and not some BS answer. Sadly, I don’t think we will see one. — Farmboy Shawn
- We have constitutional rights. Are you familiar with them? Go read No. 4. — Frank Williamson
- Very familiar with them. No. 4 only gets you so far. All I’m saying is there is a logical reason for how things transpired here, except for why the bus was searched in the first place. Unfortunately, we live in a society where police can come up with just about any answer for reasonable suspicion or probable cause. — Farmboy Shawn
- What was their reasoning for even searching? A lane change — that they didn’t even cite — was the reason for the stop but why a search of everyone’s belongings? — Holly Overmyer
- Riding while Black maybe? Make me so sad that this crap still exists. Most people don’t understand this really does still happen. They owe every single member a sincere apology! — Eileen Patricia
- Illegal search is wrong. — Davis Ralph
- What permitted the search? — Jason Bennett
