Hash
New Member
A 13-year-old girl attending a middle school dance last Friday evening at the Grass Valley Center for the Arts reportedly was asked to take off her clothes to prove that she did not have any marijuana.
Although the drug reportedly was found in her possession, the method of search by volunteers raised concern from the police.
"Officers advised staff that what they did was unlawful," Grass Valley Police Sgt. Michael Hooker said Tuesday. "It's not criminal, but it's a civil wrong. It's an invasion of her privacy."
Grass Valley police were called to the center Friday at about 8:30 p.m. by center volunteer staff, who reported that they were holding a student who had been caught with marijuana at the dance, Hooker said. The girl had allegedly been seen smoking marijuana by security volunteers.
Officers spoke with the girl and cited her for possession of marijuana.
"While the officer was talking to her, she said she was made to strip in front of a female chaperone and told (if she did not), the police would be called," Hooker said. "She stripped at least to the bra, because that is where she had the marijuana."
The monthly middle school dance, called Club Live, is run by center volunteers, and it was a volunteer who asked the girl to remove her clothes, said John Bush, the executive director for the Center for the Arts.
"She was brought out and asked about the marijuana," Bush said. "She denied she had any."
Bush said he does not believe the chaperones did anything wrong. The girl was not touched by anyone, and she undressed in front of only a female volunteer.
"She was told she had a choice," Bush said. "She said, 'OK, I have nothing to hide.' So she removed a blouse and the marijuana came loose.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy for drugs, alcohol, violence and harassment."
Hooker said the girl's parents have talked with an attorney about the incident.
Roman Gokhman, romang@theunion.com
https://www.theunion.com/article/20041202/NEWS/112020038
Although the drug reportedly was found in her possession, the method of search by volunteers raised concern from the police.
"Officers advised staff that what they did was unlawful," Grass Valley Police Sgt. Michael Hooker said Tuesday. "It's not criminal, but it's a civil wrong. It's an invasion of her privacy."
Grass Valley police were called to the center Friday at about 8:30 p.m. by center volunteer staff, who reported that they were holding a student who had been caught with marijuana at the dance, Hooker said. The girl had allegedly been seen smoking marijuana by security volunteers.
Officers spoke with the girl and cited her for possession of marijuana.
"While the officer was talking to her, she said she was made to strip in front of a female chaperone and told (if she did not), the police would be called," Hooker said. "She stripped at least to the bra, because that is where she had the marijuana."
The monthly middle school dance, called Club Live, is run by center volunteers, and it was a volunteer who asked the girl to remove her clothes, said John Bush, the executive director for the Center for the Arts.
"She was brought out and asked about the marijuana," Bush said. "She denied she had any."
Bush said he does not believe the chaperones did anything wrong. The girl was not touched by anyone, and she undressed in front of only a female volunteer.
"She was told she had a choice," Bush said. "She said, 'OK, I have nothing to hide.' So she removed a blouse and the marijuana came loose.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy for drugs, alcohol, violence and harassment."
Hooker said the girl's parents have talked with an attorney about the incident.
Roman Gokhman, romang@theunion.com
https://www.theunion.com/article/20041202/NEWS/112020038
