You definitely raised some very pertinent questions.  While it is very likely
that the teacher was overzealous in calling the law to the classroom to deal
with Ebrima, we need to ascertain what led up to this event.  In the
teacher's defense, there are certain situations when a student can become so
unruly that the school cannot handle the situation and this usually means
that outside help (the law) is needed.  Maybe this was the case on that
fateful day at Forster's Secondary school.  Nevertheless, only in very
special circumstances should the law be called to deal with "school
situations."  This should only happen in cases of violence, threats or
vandalism.  For this reason, I would very much like to hear the teacher's
explanation of why he called in the "fire brigade." If the teacher is unable
to give a reasonable explanation for his action, he should be suspended or
perhaps dismissed from the school system.

However, my point is that situations where excessive force is used to
interrogate or discipline a suspect are not uncommon back home.  To prove
this point, I gave examples that showed that this type of brutality has
always been prevalent in our society.  If this tragic incident had not
happened to the deceased, some other poor soul would have suffered the same
fate.  Unfortunately, it seems as if the same trend will go on.  From the
autopsy report that was published in the Independent, the culprits have been
absolved of all blame.  And, again, the Gambian public, with the exception of
the brave students from the college, has chosen to remain oblivious to this
alarming trend.

The crux of my point is that if we are to stop events like this from
happening in the future, we need to determine why this happened.  We have to
attack the problem from the root.  This will not be achieved by crucifying
the teacher.  Instead, we need to reexamine these brutal methods that our law
enforcement authorities use and also figure out ways to curb this disturbing
trend.  Until this is done, there will be more incidents like this.

Regards,
Yus

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