(HorizonPost.com) – The family of an Indiana high school football player who committed suicide in the spring after being arrested and expelled for using a marijuana-laced vape pen filed suit against the sheriff’s office and school district last week claiming that his civil rights were violated, the New York Post reported.
Jase Emilys, a 15-year-old Charlestown High School student killed himself on May 20, just three days after he was arrested outside of school when sheriff’s deputies found a vape pen in his locker that contained marijuana.
Gordon Ingle, the attorney for Jase’s family, told WHAS that the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Greater Clark County School District lacked probable cause to search his locker. Ingle also said authorities questioned Jase without first allowing him to consult with an appropriate adult, in this case a parent, “which is a violation of the law.”
Jase’s mother said deputies humiliated her son by handcuffing him at school and leading him away to the juvenile detention center. She told WHAS that she was not notified about his arrest until after he was transported to the detention center.
The school’s student handbook prohibits the use of illegal drugs on campus and bans the use of e-cigarettes and vape pens. According to the arrest record, the vape pen found in Jase’s locker tested positive for marijuana and contained a THC level of 83 percent.
The lawsuit accuses the sheriff’s office and school district of wrongfully arresting and detaining Jase and violating his civil rights.
His mother said the family is suing to prevent any other family from going through the same thing. She said that after her son’s suicide, there has been no acknowledgment on the part of the school or the sheriff’s office that they did anything wrong.
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