School suspends teen over drawings

North Cobb High School sophomore Brandon Field was suspended from school for three days last week after turning in an assignment with doodling on it.

School officials told his parents one of Brandon’s drawings —- a six-pointed star with a vertical line at the bottom —- is a gang-related symbol. Police say the symbol is associated with the Folk Nation gang.

“I don’t know anything about gangs, so how is it my fault?” Brandon asked Tuesday.

The Cobb County school discipline policy prohibits the display of gang symbols, school spokesman Jay Dillon said. While not familiar with this incident, Dillon said students have been suspended in the past for gang-related drawings.

Among the circles, squares and stars Brandon drew on his paper for his public safety class, one drawing stood out to his teacher, a former police officer. The teacher turned the assignment over to administrators, said Devon Chalmers, the teen’s father.

Chalmers said his son is not involved in gang activity and is being singled out.

“We keep up with my son very well,” said Chalmers, who also has a daughter at the school. “My children have never come home and talked about even being approached by a gang.”

Administrators at North Cobb could not be reached Tuesday. Cobb schools are out for the holiday.

Cobb police confirmed that they are aware of gang activity at the school.

“Our gang unit says that most kids that attend the school should know about the gangs,” police spokesman Nathan McCreary said. “You have some kids that don’t actually want to be in the gang, but are wannabees. They want to be associated with it.”

In January 2005, three North Cobb students were arrested for allegedly beating another student in a gang attack. Later that year, a student was suspended twice for wearing possible gang-related symbols. The boy’s family appealed the second suspension, which was overturned.

Staff writer Derrick Mahone contributed to this article.