QB controversy at MLK High

Aleem Marshall, star quarterback at Martin Luther King High School, was nursing scrapes and bruises yesterday.

His aching body was not the result of a football game - the season's over.

Aleem's workout came courtesy of the school's police officers who pummeled him during a Wednesday incident, he said.

"I got hit in the head with a stick, and kicked and they were standing on my leg," the 18-year-old senior said yesterday.

City police, who were at King, took him to the hospital for treatment and then to the police station, where he was charged with disorderly conduct.

The quarterback said he was wrongly accused of hallway horseplay that he had no part in, and even after being blamed and taken to the security office at school, he denied striking any of the officers.

School district officials, however, said Aleem provoked the confrontation and that he punched one of the officers in the chest.

They said the school police responded appropriately.

A city police officer assigned to the school also sprayed him with Mace and arrested him.

"Based on what occurred in the police [security] room with this student, the actions taken are appropriate," said James Golden, the school district's chief safety executive.

Many students at the West Oak Lane school believe Aleem was wrongly sacked.

Aliha Walker, King's student-body president, said a walkout is planned for 9 this morning to protest not only Aleem's treatment, but also to spotlight a pattern of hostile behavior toward students by school officers.

"Every day they use vulgar language against us, said Aliha, 17. "They tend to sometimes act like they're playing, but we really don't appreciate that."

Jewel Faulkner, 17, the student-body vice president, agreed. "We feel that our voices need to be heard," he said, "and if they can't be heard inside the school, then we have to go outside the school for them to be heard."

"Always they're just aggressive with us for no reason," Aleem added, referring to school police officers. "They cuss at us for no reason, throw us on the ground for no reason. Sometimes when people be fighting, they go overboard to break it up and hit people with walkie-talkies and kick people in the stomach."

Aleem's parents were outraged and concerned that the arrest may hurt his military or college plans. His mother, Joann Marshall, said that when Aleem conveyed concerns for his future to one of the school officers who tackled him, the officer responded: " 'F--- your future.' "

"I want a complete investigation of the school police system," she said. "The kids are getting hurt by the school police. My son was beat and he was Maced in his eyes and he was stomped and kicked, and that should not happen in a school."

Aleem's father, Jerry Marshall, said he is aware of three school officers who are out of control and in need of "sensitivity training."

Golden said King - managed by the nonprofit education organization Foundations Inc. - is one of the most challenging schools to handle. Nine school police officers and six safety support staff are assigned to the school, he said.

Still, Golden said he has not received any reports to substantiate students' claims of misconduct by the school's police force.

"There is nothing in my reporting system to substantiate those allegations," he said. "We will investigate any allegation that's brought to us to determine if it's factual."

A district spokeswoman said students with complaints about security personnel can report them to their principal or to the office of the state-appointed safe- school advocate at 215-644-1277.

Golden said the Wednesday incident began when a number of students, including Aleem, began throwing paper in a hallway and refused to go to class.

Golden did not know why Aleem was the only student taken to the security office but once there, he said, the student became combative, struck one officer in the chest and threatened to kill the officers.

The Mace was used to bring him under control, Golden said.

Aleem said the incident began after he was falsely accused of throwing a piece of paper at a female school police officer. He said the officer chased the guilty female student and, failing to catch her, accused him of the deed.

Golden said King's administrators will have to decide who threw what. "Regardless of what happened," he said, "it is not an excuse to engage in assaultive behavior . . . That's why he was arrested." *