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Garden Grove School Officials Reopen Nazi Salute Investigation

GARDEN GROVE (CBSLA) — Furor over a video of high school students doing a Nazi salute is prompting Garden Grove school officials to re-open their investigation of the incident.

Video Shows Garden Grove Students Doing Nazi Salute, Chant
A group of Pacifica High School students do a Nazi salute during an athletics banquet in November 2018. (Credit: The Daily Beast)

The video was posted online last year but only gained widespread attention when it exploded on social media Monday.

The eight-second clip, first obtained by the Daily Beast, appears to show a group of about 10 Pacifica High students doing a Nazi salute and singing a German song at an off-campus student athletics banquet. The students were all part of the Pacifica High water polo team, the Daily Beast reported.

Pacifica High School administrators investigated the incident in March but encountered "disparate accounts and lacked details that have since emerged," according to the school district.

"School administrators addressed the situation with the students shown in the video and their families, but did not involve the larger school or district community in addressing the issue... The school and district has received new information, allegations, and claims that have led us to reopen and widen the scope of the investigation," according to the district. "Rest assured that any students engaging in hate speech or activities will face disciplinary action in accordance with California Education Code. We deeply apologize for the pain this has caused our community and the national community at large."

Garden Grove police sent a half-dozen officers to the school district's board meeting Tuesday evening after a handful of death threats directed at the high school were received.

Dozens of irate parents and teachers showed up at the meeting, demanding answers from the school board.

"We as teachers were not informed, nor our district leadership. We were completely blindsided and we feel outraged," said teacher Ana Tourtellotte.

Principal Steve Osborne apologized at the meeting: "We did a disservice to our entire school community."

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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