A Myrtle Beach student was accused of making a gang sign. Was racial bias involved?

A seemingly innocuous photo taken of the Myrtle Beach High School boys volleyball team last year led to a police questioning when a player was accused of making a gang symbol with his hands.

Nick Powell, 16, recalled the coach instructing the team to make a heart sign. So he and a couple of his teammates displayed a half heart symbol they often see couples do on social media, he said.

Four days later, Powell was called into the assistant principal’s office, confronted by a police officer about his potential gang affiliation and briefly suspended.

“It was a very tense situation,” Powell said of the meeting. “I was on edge because I didn’t really know what I was there for, but the (officer) came off as very serious and grim. He was telling me I could be sent to alternative school for what I’d done.”

Police only questioned Powell about the hand symbol, despite other teammates making similar gestures, leading his family and others to question whether racial bias was involved. The district has since admitted school officials didn’t follow proper protocol and should’ve spoken to Nick before involving the police.

“I’m not running around calling (administrators and coaches) raging racists, but I do feel like, even if it’s unintentional, I think (his race) played a role in what occurred,” Patricia Powell, Nick’s mother, said.

The Powells’ race is Asian, specifically Filipino, but they’re often assumed to be Hispanic because of their darker skin tone, Patricia told The Sun News. Nick’s teammates making similar hand symbols in the photo were white.

“It’s not his character,” she said, noting that Nick is a straight-A student with no previous disciplinary history outside of a few tardies. He was even named Myrtle Beach High School’s student of the month when he was a freshman.

“It makes me more fearful for other (Black and brown) students without active parents,” Patricia Powell said.

Data collected by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights shows that Horry County Schools reported during the 2020-21 school year that more than 27% of its referrals to law enforcement involved Black students, 21% involved Hispanic or Latino students. About 39% of those referrals involved white students, while 60% of the student body was white, the data showed. Zero Asian students were referred to law enforcement that year.

Horry County Schools responds to claim of racial bias

Myrtle Beach High School Principal Kristin Altman, Assistant Principal Natalie Hunnell, Athletic Director John Cahill and boys volleyball coach Jeremy Howard did not return a request for comment.

Horry County Schools spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier stated that parent concerns related to this incident last fall were thoroughly looked into at the time, and it’s the district’s understanding that no additional or ongoing concerns have been brought to their attention since.

“If there are any ongoing or new issues, the parent is again encouraged to share them with the school’s administration and provide an opportunity for matters to be addressed,” Bourcier wrote.

Patricia Powell did meet with school administrators shortly after the incident and spoke with HCS Chief Officer of Student Services Velna Allen, who acknowledged in an emailed letter Powell shared with The Sun News that Myrtle Beach High School staff members made several mistakes.

But several inconsistencies in what the family has been told and unanswered questions remain, Patricia Powell told The Sun News. Meanwhile Nick, who never received an apology, quit the volleyball team because he felt he could no longer trust his coach and has has felt “anxious” at the school ever since, he said.

“I don’t know if I’m constantly being watched,” the high school junior said.

Fellow teammates did show support, wearing “Free Nick” t-shirts to a girls volleyball game shortly after the police questioning, though they were asked to remove those shirts before entering the gym, according to Allen’s letter.

How did police get involved?

Allen’s letter summarized the district’s findings about the incident.

The team picture was taken Sept. 7 after a boys volleyball match, and the next day, Cahill and Hunnell shared the photo with a school resource officer, who had concerns one of the symbols could be mistaken for a Crips gang sign, Allen wrote.

Both Nick and Patricia said Allen’s letter was the first time the Crips gang was mentioned, and they were previously told his hand resembled a pitchfork associated with the Gangster Disciples.

The school resource officer contacted a Myrtle Beach Police detective with knowledge of gang symbols, Allen wrote, and they questioned Nick on Sept. 11.

“Because the assistant principal thought it was going to be a more detailed investigation, at that time she notified Nick he was suspended pending investigation (placed on summary suspension),” she wrote.

Further discussion among the officers and school administrators determined Nick had no intent to represent a gang symbol, so he was notified that same day he was not suspended, Allen added, though Nick and Patricia Powell both contend that information was only relayed to Patricia Powell and not Nick directly.

Patricia Powell recalled being furious immediately about the situation because no one contacted her or her husband before the police questioning, nor did anyone talk to Nick about his intent.

Administrators initially told her the decision not to contact her first related to an urgent safety concern — a rival gang could see the photo and retaliate against Nick — but that didn’t make sense after she found out they were made aware of the photo days earlier, she said.

It’s unclear whether the photo was ever posted on any social media platform.

Allen acknowledged in her letter that staff didn’t follow proper protocols, which should’ve began with a discussion with Nick. She later noted she had discussed proper protocol with Principal Altman, planned to conduct training with staff involved, and discussed the situation with the district’s chief officer of human resources.

“The outcome of personnel concerns is not shared publicly.” she wrote. “However, I can share that we took this situation very seriously and deeply regret that it occurred.”

The Sun News submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking any disciplinary actions taken against staff involved, as well as internal communications among those personnel leading up to the police involvement. That request remains pending as of Wednesday.

Racial bias?

Allen also stated that Nick was the first team member questioned about his hand gesture because of its similarities to the Crips gang sign.

“Once it was determined that Nick was not displaying a gang symbol, no further inquiries were made of the student athletes,” she wrote.

That assessment didn’t “ring true” to Patricia Powell.

“To me, it was so clear they targeted (Nick),” she said. “They didn’t just talk to him first. They called the police on him.”

Patricia Powell responded to Allen’s letter with several more questions but never received a response, she said.

Shawna Gilman, whose son was on the volleyball team with Nick, recalled that administrators held a meeting a few days after the incident with parents of the team, and some questioned why white players making the same symbol weren’t also questioned. But no answer was provided to the group.

“I think they owe (Nick) a serious apology,” Gilman said. “Accountability is important. They hold these kids to a high standard, and we expect the administration to be held to guidelines as well.”