Suetaz

Police chief arrested on drug charges

MARK SCOLFORO | Associated Press | TimesLeader.com | Oct. 6, 2004

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A northeastern Pennsylvania police chief was arrested on drug and obstruction charges Wednesday and prosecutors said he had been secretly observed smoking seized Marijuana repeatedly while on duty.

Weatherly Police Chief Brian S. Cara was released on personal-recognizance bail after his preliminary arraignment Wednesday on charges of possession of Marijuana and paraphernalia, obstruction of justice and attempted obstruction.

The state attorney general's office said an investigative grand jury heard evidence that cocaine and Marijuana has inexplicably disappeared from the Carbon County police department's evidence locker since 2002.

Cara, 38, of West Hazleton, did not immediately return a phone message left at his home and it was unclear whether he was represented by a lawyer. He has been suspended with pay since investigators searched his office in August.

Prosecutors said officers reported that sealed evidence envelopes containing cocaine were later discovered opened and emptied, and that at least twice Cara told other police officers that missing drugs may have exploded while inside the evidence locker.

A grand jury that began hearing evidence in the case in September 2003 reported that several officers had smelled Marijuana smoke inside the police department. Officers also recounted drug cases that were not investigated, evidence containers that had been tampered with, and drugs and paraphernalia that turned up in a desk drawer Cara used, the attorney general's office said.

Using a hidden video camera, state drug agents on Aug. 2 allegedly observed Cara smoking pot on duty nine times, then numerous other times over the next two days. Prosecutors said Cara was seen filling a pipe with Marijuana and then putting it in his breast pocket before going on patrol.

The day his office was searched, Aug. 4, Cara allegedly tested positive for having used Marijuana over the previous 48 hours. The grand jury presentment states Cara admitted to state drug agents he had smoked Marijuana removed from the evidence locker.

Weatherly Mayor Joseph E. D'Andrea said Cara may be placed on unpaid suspension while charges are pending.

"We're not his judge and jury, but we can't continue paying him and filling in for him at his salary," D'Andrea said.

Cara was promoted to chief in 1994 and did a good job, the mayor said.

"I was really shocked to find out everything he was supposed to have done. If he has had problems and needed help, we could have helped him," D'Andrea said.

[Suetaznote: It sounds like this police chief didn't buy into all the prohibition crap, but he went about dealing with it the wrong way. Tampering with evidence and not investigating cases isn't the way to go about it. Being a little too obvious about using Marijuana isn't the way to do it either. Did he seriously think no one would notice or have anything to say when he was smoking weed on the job? I don't know if this is outright defiance of the law or abuse of it, but it sounds more like abuse of power and thinking he could get away with it. It's too bad really, as a police Chief, he could have spoken out about Marijuana and educated people about it. Instead he's becoming another victim of prohibition. He should have educated the mayor and taught him that the only problem with Marijuana is that it's prohibited. If he was using the cocaine, it could be that he did have a problem. But if drugs were legal and regulated, that temptation wouldn't be there. Drugs should be left up to the health professionals, not law enforcement.]

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Silva Haze J

They are still paying him AND he didn't have to put up bail for those charges. Any normal citizen out here even with a clean record would have some kind of bail for OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE which is a felony here (the last time I checked), but it might not be there. That's the American Justice System for you, prosecuting people different ways for the same crime.

Rob555

That article seems to read that he was seen smoking NINE TIMES in ONE DAY??!!!? That seems a bit heavy for on-the-job, esp. if that job is police chief!

Silva Haze J

Whoa, I looked over that...So I'm guessing he smoked 9 pipes of weed, that's gotta be around a quarter ounce or so depending on the size of the pipe, plus not including any other times he smoked while he went out on "patrol." That's a lot of damn weed.... this makes me even more mad because he was seen smoking that much on camera, and still release on his own recogniance(sp?).

Hiz Highness

Just wanted too point out that the guy was smoking at least nine times a day and the Mayor said he was doing a good job.

How is that possible? Could the government please explain to us all how this guy managed to do a good job and smoke Marijuana (at least) nine times a day? It doesn't seem to fit with what the man usually tells us about Marijuana.



-HH

Buzzby

{IDLE_SPECULATION}If you smoke frequently enough you don't get very high. The neurotransmitters that are released by smoking are not in infinite supply. This is why users of medical Marijuana report that they don't get high. The chief was suffering from a terminal case of bad conscience and required medical Marijuana just to lower his pain level and get through the day. {/IDLE_SPECULATION}

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