
Further proving that cops will arrest black kids for anything, an Arizona senior student at Apache Junction High School was arrested, along with some of his schoolmates, all because he refused to take off his bandanna.
Needless to say, this has sparked huge conversations about dress code at the Arizona high school.
According to AZ Central, the school says that the bandanna violated school dress code, although that same code theyâre trying to reference doesnât specifically mention bandannas. Some students are now calling the incident racially motivated...because why else would a student of color be arrested over an item of clothing?
In total, four students were arrested during the Aug. 10 altercation.
Students posted video of the altercation on social media that shows the black teen walking from an Apache Junction police officer who demands that he remove the navy bandanna he is wearing.
âWhy donât you just take me out now and save yourself the trouble, bro,â the student could be heard telling the officer.
The officer then addresses the crowd of students looking on insisting, âIt has nothing to do with the color of his skin. Itâs not me harassing him. All heâs doing is wearing a bandanna, which youâre not allowed to do on campus, OK? Donât wear a bandanna, thatâs it.â
The officer insists that as soon as the student takes off the bandanna there will be no more trouble, but the student still refuses.
âAre you sure?,â the student responds to the officer. âYou said I broke the law, so I thought I was in trouble with you.â
As teachers attempt to gather students back into class, the teen continues to argue with officers about whether he broke the law. Then, the student attempts to walk away, pointing out that he has a class to go to.
The officer puts a hand on the studentâs arm, but the student brushes it off. At that point, another officer enters the video. The officers take the teenâs arms and try to escort him off campus, and the young boy starts laughing. Eventually, a struggle starts when officers try to take his backpack away.
Ultimately, the officers handcuff the teen, and the videos end.
In a letter emailed to families, school principal Angela Chomokos claimed that administrators asked the teen to remove the bandanna, but when he refused, a DARE officer and two officers from the local police department got involved.
âThe refusal to respond to a reasonable request escalated to a point where some students were confusing the wearing of the bandanna with defiance and disorderly behavior,â she said. âThis particular situation became escalated when students posted videos on social media sites.â
However, the student told AZ Family a different story.
âShe told me, âif you donât take it off, I will call the police and have you arrested,ââ he explained of his interaction with an administrator. âI was like, âwell if the first thing you think of is to call the police then you might as well just do that because it must be that urgent for you to call the police, I must be making such a big scene that you need to call the police so go ahead,â and then I walked away from her.â
Once again, the school dress code does not specifically mention bandannas, but when AZ Central asked for clarification, the district refused to comment, saying that it doesnât discuss issues involving students.
So basically, theyâre bullshitting.
According to the teen, he wears his bandanna almost every day and has never had an issue, describing the garment as âan extensionâ of himself.
Meanwhile, Apache Junction spokesperson Al Bravo said that officers were called on to âassist with a disruptive student,â according to AZ Central.
âThe officer attempted to defuse the situation â the student was wearing a head band and was requested to remove it per school policy. The student refused and challenged the officer, becoming more disruptive, and then was taken into custody as he continued to be noncompliant abusive,â the summary given by Bravo read.
Again, the student told AZ Family a different story. The 17-year-old says that he is constantly targeted for his bandanna when other students donât get the same hassle.
âThe officer came up to me and wanted to have a talk with me, he asked me about the bandana and I said, âwhatâs wrong with it?â He said, âthe color.â I said, âwhat do you mean? That kidâs wearing a bandana.â He says, âthatâs the American flag.â I said, âwhatâs the difference?â She told me we canât wear bandanas at all,â the 17-year-old said.
The other three students who were arrested were taken in on suspicion of disrupting an educational institution, disorderly conduct and drug paraphernalia
All four students are expected to be referred to the Pinal County Juvenile Court system.
The teen acknowledges he could have obeyed orders, but decided instead to stand up for himself.
âI couldâve took off the bandana, I really couldâve. But at the end of the day, they tried to tell me I couldnât be me, knowing damn well I wear that bandana all the time,â he told AZ Family. âIt was kind of humiliating if you think about it, in front of everybody, me getting arrested and they try to make it look like I did something so bad, you know?â
DISCUSSION
Iâve NEVER heard of someone being arrested for violating the dress code. That isnât a law itâs a school rule, one that everyone knows is just used to tell people they canât dress the way theyâd like. If you violate the dress code youâre not fucking arrested youâre sent home.
Iâm glad weâre talking about how fucked dress codes are though. Toe to Tip theyâre biased against women and PoC. They say you canât wear tights or hat or dress in a specific way. Itâs all just a way to keep people in line. For women itâs about boyâs not being responsible for themselves and for PoC itâs the school trying to stamp out the elements of the culture that arenât âwhiteâ enough.
Dress codes are just bludgeons to keep students in line.Â