'Sort of thing you hear about in communist China': Cop interrupts classroom to search for book

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is requesting police body camera footage following an incident in a classroom in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

According to the Berkshire Eagle, the principal of W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School escorted a plainclothes police officer into an eighth grade classroom on December 8, who then turned on his body camera and conducted a search for the coming-of-age novel Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe. The Eagle reported that the teacher was "surprised" by the search, which turned up empty.

"Police going into schools and searching for books is the sort of thing you hear about in communist China and Russia," said Ruth Bourquin, the senior and managing attorney for the ACLU of Massachusetts. "What are we doing?"

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The search was allegedly in response to an anonymous complaint filed with the Great Barrington Police Department, in which the complainant said was out of concern that the book could contain "obscene" and "pornographic" material. Prior to the search, officers notified school administrators of the complaint and of their impending arrival, and also notified the Berkshire District Attorney's Office as per department policy.

In a letter, the Berkshire Hills Regional School District Committee said the search "has challenged and impacted our community," and has announced a community meeting on January 11 to address the issue.

"Faced with an unprecedented police investigation of what should be a purely educational issue, we tried our best to serve the interests of students, families, teachers and staff," the letter read. "In hindsight, we would have approached that moment differently. We are sorry."

According to the American Library Association, Gender Queer: A Memoir topped the list of banned books last year. The illustrated novel, which grapples with gender confusion from a teen perspective, contains sexually explicit imagery and language. Bookseller Barnes & Noble says the book is appropriate for readers aged 15 and up.

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