Top Cop Smokes Pot

[BIG_DADDY]

Thursday, October 07, 2004

The best place to get high in town may have been the police station.

Cops in the small eastern Pennsylvania town of Weatherly (search) had been complaining for months about the smell of marijuana smoke in the office, the pot pipes lying around, the seized drugs that disappeared.

On Wednesday, their chief of 10 years, Brian S. Cara (search), was arrested by state troopers, reports The Morning Call of Allentown.

"I was really shocked to find out everything he was supposed to have done," Weatherly Mayor Joseph E. D'Andrea told the newspaper. "If he has had problems and needed help, we could have helped him."

The borough of 2,600 people, about midway between Wilkes-Barre and Allentown, has three full-time and six part-time police officers.

Cara, 38, did not immediately return a phone message left at his home.

State Attorney General Jerry Pappert said the probe started in Sept. 2003 when Weatherly cops told state authorities suspicious things had been disappearing for months.


There were the plastic envelopes of cocaine that mysteriously "exploded" after having been placed in the evidence locker — an unlocked drawer.

There were the times when cops showed up unexpectedly at the station only to find Cara there alone and the place reeking of pot smoke.

There were the joints and pot pipes cops noticed in Cara's desk drawer.

Finally, a "reverse sting" was set up this summer. On Aug. 2, one of Weatherly's officers told Cara that two ounces of pot had been seized and were in the office.

Also new to the office was a hidden video camera.

State drug agents told a grand jury they watched Cara smoke some of the pot later that same day, then go back for more no less than eight times on Aug. 3. All of it was caught on videotape.

On Aug. 4, it all came down. Cara was seen smoking pot five times before 9:15 a.m. Then he packed a pipe, tucked it into his pocket and went out on patrol.

Later that day, state agents with a warrant searched his desk and found drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Cara was made to undergo a blood test, which came back positive for marijuana, and he allegedly admitted smoking pot from the evidence locker.

He was immediately placed on paid suspension, but the paychecks may end following his formal arrest.

"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 charged with four misdemeanors: obstructing justice, criminal attempt to obstruct justice, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was booked and released on his own recognizance. His first preliminary hearing was scheduled for Nov. 17.

[|Zach|]

Wow, 5 times before 9:15 am

[KcMizzou]

I have a lot bigger problem with him being f*cking a hypocrite than a pot head.

[seclark]

Wow, 5 times before 9:15 am
bet he could put away some do-nuts.
sec

[Cannibal]

The mutherfuggers are such hipocrites. So many of them arrest and abuse people for doing the same things they do.

So many of them drink and drive AND do drugs and then they act like jackboot aholes when they others for doing the same.

Prick c0cksuckers...

[KcMizzou]

bet he could put away some do-nuts.
sec ROFL


You have to have the best "words typed/laughs received" ratio on the Planet.

[Fairplay]

What a stupid cop to smoke dope at the station not thinking people couldn't smell the reek of the smoke let alone him leaving pipes around. The other officers would be able to smell it on him. I have a hard time believeing that they didn't know this about the cop a long time ago.

[Cannibal]

I have a lot bigger problem with him being f*cking a hypocrite than a pot head.

I concur.

[BigChiefFan]

What bothers me is the double standard or should I say doobie standard. All kidding aside, one of the officers said if he needed help they could have gotten him help. Typical cop horseshit. They are willing to help their own, but the rest of us would be treated like crimnal scum. I can hear the Public Enemy song in the background-you know what I'm talking about.

[Skip Towne]

Wow! I didn't think this EVER happened.

[Pitt Gorilla]

I have a lot bigger problem with him being f*cking a hypocrite than a pot head. :clap:

[David.]

cops get caught for doing drugs? pft, there goes my want to be a cop.

[KcMizzou]

The only thing I've experienced that was close to this was cops taking our beer when I was in HS. They'd let us go, but they seized the beer.. and drank it themselves at their cop parties.

It pissed us off, because hell... it was hard to get beer. We couldn't exactly just run to QT and buy more. It was hard to get too pissed though, due to the whole "not taking us to jail" thing... :shrug:

Drug penalties are severe. The people this guy busted most likely did some real time. Meanwhile he's getting high in the station.

Some people just have no conscience.. :shake:

[Skip Towne]

Bout time you showed up. I'm seconds away from an anti-cop rant. Gotta have you around for the post-rant hi five.
Yeah, you got it!

[Skip Towne]

That's kind of a pre-req to being a successful cop.
You also have to relinquish your membership in the human race. You officially become a turncoat.

[BigChiefFan]

PE made "911 is a joke" Tho, perhaps you're thinking of NWA's "F*ck Tha Police"
I was thinking fight the power, but NWA's song is probably more appropriate.

[Fairplay]

The only thing I've experienced that was close to this was cops taking our beer when I was in HS. They'd let us go, but they seized the beer.. and drank it themselves at their cop parties.





I've known a few cops that admited that they would take the beer from underage kids from them all the time. And they were bitchin as well about how the kids always have cheap beer at the parties on top of it. Cops takeing drugs? I wouldn't doubt they do it all the time. And if there is a bust some probably take a portion of it and turn the rest in. Its all a racket.

[Fairplay]

While we're on the subject of cops being dishonest... I'd like to make a PSA....

Folks, when you find yourself interacting with a police officer, and he says, "Now, no one's going to get in trouble here..." HE'S LYING. For the love of God, DON'T give him the answer he wants to whatever follows that statement. Why is this so hard for some people to figure out?



You find that amusing as well. When people get arrested. You are givein these rights........
You have a constitutional right to remain silent. This is a very important right and you cannot be punished for remaining silent or have your silence used against you. Constitutional rights can be waived (given up). Before you say or sign anything, the decision should be carefully made. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. If you do answer a question, you may stop at any time and not answer any further questions. You have a right to talk with an attorney before answering any questions.


On "COPS" and or the shows of the like the cops will issue these rights then ask (persude) the victem to talk. I would say nothing except i need to talk to an attorney, Period. Why don't people understand this?

[Hydrae]

I don't so much find it amusing as frustrating. I think people that believe a single word that comes out of a cop's mouth are slap on the forehead, Gomer Pyle stupid. I'm always concerned someone in the group of people I'm with is "that guy".

Thankfully I'm not involved in many illegal activites anymore. But, every once in awhile I hear a story that just leaves me thinking, "WTF? Why the f*ck did you answer?"

On a tangentially related story of stupidity and the law.... a few weeks back I met a girl who had an extreme DUI. I know a think or two on the subject, as I myself got popped with an extreme a couple years ago. She's telling me about some of the punishments she's gone through, and it becomes apparent that she just went to court, plead guilty, and took all the standard minimums. I was shocked. "Why the f*ck didn't you hire a lawyer?" "A lawyer wouldn't be able to do anything for me." I then proceeded to tell her my story... which included committed the EXACT SAME CRIME as her, but receiving far fewer punishments, thanks to my lawyer. This dumb broad didn't even talk to a lawyer... choosing instead to just listen to the advice of some equally dumbf*ck friend of hers, and get ass-raped by the state of Arizona. Sheezus... every freakin' lawyer with a big gaudy DUI ad in the yellow pages has free consultations. They're not gonna paint you some rosey unrealistic picture of what they can do for ya just to grab your cash. They're lawyers.. it's a doctorate in CYA. I think I heard the phrase "Now, I can't guarantee anything" more times in my one hour visit with the lawyer than I had in the 21 years of my life leading up to that meeting.

Sorry.. now I'm just rambling. Jesus, what a dumb broad, tho. Man, she looked really pissed as the realization set in that she didn't have to go through all the shit she did. It still makes me laugh.


So in the end, those with the money to hire a competent attorney will have a lighter punishment than some indigent SOB? :shake: Sounds about the way our system works all right.

[Skip Towne]

I don't so much find it amusing as frustrating. I think people that believe a single word that comes out of a cop's mouth are slap on the forehead, Gomer Pyle stupid. I'm always concerned someone in the group of people I'm with is "that guy".

Thankfully I'm not involved in many illegal activites anymore. But, every once in awhile I hear a story that just leaves me thinking, "WTF? Why the f*ck did you answer?"

On a tangentially related story of stupidity and the law.... a few weeks back I met a girl who had an extreme DUI. I know a think or two on the subject, as I myself got popped with an extreme a couple years ago. She's telling me about some of the punishments she's gone through, and it becomes apparent that she just went to court, plead guilty, and took all the standard minimums. I was shocked. "Why the f*ck didn't you hire a lawyer?" "A lawyer wouldn't be able to do anything for me." I then proceeded to tell her my story... which included committed the EXACT SAME CRIME as her, but receiving far fewer punishments, thanks to my lawyer. This dumb broad didn't even talk to a lawyer... choosing instead to just listen to the advice of some equally dumbf*ck friend of hers, and get ass-raped by the state of Arizona. Sheezus... every freakin' lawyer with a big gaudy DUI ad in the yellow pages has free consultations. They're not gonna paint you some rosey unrealistic picture of what they can do for ya just to grab your cash. They're lawyers.. it's a doctorate in CYA. I think I heard the phrase "Now, I can't guarantee anything" more times in my one hour visit with the lawyer than I had in the 21 years of my life leading up to that meeting.

Sorry.. now I'm just rambling. Jesus, what a dumb broad, tho. Man, she looked really pissed as the realization set in that she didn't have to go through all the shit she did. It still makes me laugh.
I, too, had an attorney say "I can't guarantee anything". I said sure you can, you can guarantee me you won't charge me if you don't get this done.

[Calcountry]

The mutherfuggers are such hipocrites. So many of them arrest and abuse people for doing the same things they do.

So many of them drink and drive AND do drugs and then they act like jackboot aholes when they others for doing the same.

Prick c0cksuckers...
There are a lot of good cops as well.

[2bikemike]

You find that amusing as well. When people get arrested. You are givein these rights........
You have a constitutional right to remain silent. This is a very important right and you cannot be punished for remaining silent or have your silence used against you. Constitutional rights can be waived (given up). Before you say or sign anything, the decision should be carefully made. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. If you do answer a question, you may stop at any time and not answer any further questions. You have a right to talk with an attorney before answering any questions.


On "COPS" and or the shows of the like the cops will issue these rights then ask (persude) the victem to talk. I would say nothing except i need to talk to an attorney, Period. Why don't people understand this?

My wife used to belong to a "Leads Group" (people who hang out and bring each other business) and there was an attorney in there who used to preach to the group weekly about "You have the right to remain silent. Excercise that right no matter what. The cops are not your friends." We tried to teach that to our kids. So far they have not had to excercise that right but hopefully they know better than to run their mouths.

[Cannibal]

There are a lot of good cops as well.

There a lot of ahole cops as well.

[Calcountry]

They're in the business of apprehending dishonest scum. You don't do that by being an honest, upfront good guy. You do that by being SMARTER dishonest scum.
You would be an expert on that.

[Hel'n]

The mutherfuggers are such hipocrites. So many of them arrest and abuse people for doing the same things they do.

So many of them drink and drive AND do drugs and then they act like jackboot aholes when they others for doing the same.

Prick c0cksuckers...


Marijuana should be decriminalized... It is the height of hypocrisy... Just like Prohibition...

(No, I don't smoke it or do drugs... )

[Calcountry]

It doesn't take a genius to figure out.
No, just a dipshit like me.

[Fairplay]

Marijuana should be decriminalized... It is the height of hypocrisy... Just like Prohibition...

(No, I don't smoke it or do drugs... )




Come'on admit it. Were all family here after all.

[Hel'n]

Come'on admit it. Were all family here after all.

OK, I admit it... I'm one of those pollyannas with no experience with the drug culture...

But I do like lemondrops (the drink)...

[Skip Towne]

They're in the business of apprehending dishonest scum. You don't do that by being an honest, upfront good guy. You do that by being SMARTER dishonest scum.
I've found a big hole in your theory. You have cops being smarter than somebody. Can you prove that?

[alanm]

As a former Federal officer for the ***. All I can say is legalize it.
Busting people for marijuana is a major waste of taxpayer money. Legalize it and tax it. It would put a end to a lot of problems. Not to mention some organized crimes.:thumb:

[Mojo Rising]

I used to live next door to a cop who would drive drunk all the time. He would also brag about arresting drunk drivers while working.


This cop in the story was stupid as can be for doing it in the station. It's like he wanted to get arrested.

My buddy did what the girl referenced but had better results. He called an attorney and the guy told him there was nothing he could do for him. He checked with several people who had also gotten DUI's and their attorneys didn't do anything for them. It might be the difference between AZ and Cal.

In his alcohol class he had a lesser sentence than anyone in the class.

When I lived in KC it was defineately a requirement to get a lawyer because they could make a difference. They can't do much in CA

[KcMizzou]

As a former Federal officer for the ***. All I can say is legalize it.
Busting people for marijuana is a major waste of taxpayer money. Legalize it and tax it. It would put a end to a lot of problems. Not to mention some organized crimes.:thumb: I'm honestly surprised to hear that from you. I guess I'm used to the "knee jerk" reaction from law enforcement types. (I have several in my family)

I guess I had a pretty liberal up-bringing though... I was told, "You'll experiment, because you'll be curious. Just don't let anything get hold of you." It was really the best advice I've ever gotten.

Of course they never said much about the dangers of beer...
:banghead:

:D

[J Diddy]

I'm honestly surprised to hear that from you. I guess I'm used to the "knee jerk" reaction from law enforcement types. (I have several in my family)

I guess I had a pretty liberal up-bringing though... I was told, "You'll experiment, because you'll be curious. Just don't let anything get hold of you." It was really the best advice I've ever gotten.

Of course they never said much about the dangers of beer...
:banghead:

:D

beer
:shake:

there are no dangers of beer

[whoman69]

I think Ricky Williams just found his calling.

[KcMizzou]

beer
:shake:

there are no dangers of beer Not if you drink it wisely...

Two words... functional alchoholic

[Boyceofsummer]

The mutherfuggers are such hipocrites. So many of them arrest and abuse people for doing the same things they do.

So many of them drink and drive AND do drugs and then they act like jackboot aholes when they others for doing the same.

Prick c0cksuckers...

not bitter about it.

[Skip Towne]

Yeah.

Look at the sheer number of morons in prison.
And that makes cops smart?

[Skip Towne]

No.

It merely means at least one was smarter than each moron in prison.

I mean... even "Corky" was probably smarter than someone.
I'd bet 80% of those in prison were ratted off. You can estimate a cop's IQ by looking at his paycheck. I've never met a smart one.

[the Talking Can]

As a former Federal officer for the ***. All I can say is legalize it.
Busting people for marijuana is a major waste of taxpayer money. Legalize it and tax it. It would put a end to a lot of problems. Not to mention some organized crimes.:thumb:

rep for that

[Cannibal]

not bitter about it.

Yeah I am bitter about it. They have a power trip. IMO they have this power trip before they're even hired to be a cop. Out of all of the experiences I have had with cops, maybe one or two them actually showed some respect while dealing with me.

So for the most part I don't like cops they are fuggin aholes in my experience.

They need to do their fuggin jobs and shut the F up as far as I am concerned.

[Over-Head]

As a former Federal officer for the ***. All I can say is legalize it.
Busting people for marijuana is a major waste of taxpayer money. Legalize it and tax it. It would put a end to a lot of problems. Not to mention some organized crimes.:thumb:

Get this man ready for the White house! :thumb:

[alanm]

I'm honestly surprised to hear that from you. I guess I'm used to the "knee jerk" reaction from law enforcement types. (I have several in my family)

I guess I had a pretty liberal up-bringing though... I was told, "You'll experiment, because you'll be curious. Just don't let anything get hold of you." It was really the best advice I've ever gotten.

Of course they never said much about the dangers of beer...
:banghead:

:DI had a very liberal upbringing and am very liberal when it comes to social mores. But politically speaking I vote on the right side of the aisle. Go figure. But I'm also very conservative when it comes to national defense and the Armed Forces. There's more destructive drugs out there to deal with in law enforcement than Marijuana. That, I consider harmless as a controlled substance. Alcohol destroys more lives every day than marijuana has ever done since it's mind altering capabilities were first discovered. Also I abhor the practice of testing for marijuana as a precondition for obtaining a job. In fact I consider drug testing in general as a precondition for a job a violation of the 4th and 5th amendments. But the Supreme courts beg to differ with me.:rolleyes: Testing for cause while on the job is another matter entirely and is fine with me. I don't know if I ever mentioned it or not. But a friend of mine encouraged me back when I was a senior in college and we were at a job fair to fill out a application for the ***. I did and a couple of weeks later they called me in to the federal building in Omaha for a interview. Went thru all the bullshit on my application and when it came to the question whether or not I had used drugs before and naturally of course I had marked yes on my application. I figured when I had filled it out at the job fair I may as well tell the truth. With their background checks of friends, family, employers, teachers ect, They were going to find out the truth anyway. I had been using drugs since my best friend pulled a joint out of his sock whilst driving to Lincoln for a HS Basketball tournament. The next night I had been introduced to hash.:thumb: After that weekend I was off and running. And after a few years there hadn't been a drug on the street or concocted somewhere in a lab that I hadn't tried at least once. :) And in college like everyone else since time began I majored in partying. Only attending classes often enough to pass and graduate on time.:thumb: Not to mention working parttime. Well to my absolute shock and horror they hired me.:eek: Mostly because of my athletic background and I tested quite high on their apptitude test(IQ) and as it turned out that I had told the truth about my drug use. Go figure.:hmmm: And yes I did have to pass a drug test. That was in 84 And that was before drug testing was federally mandated. ROFL IIRC that became mandatory in 1985 or 87. I could be wrong on both years though.