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“If it matters to the USA family, it matters to us.”
feb 13, 2012
Freese comes home for First Pitch Banquet Baseball >> see Sports, page 10, for story.
Left of center: golf and rugby are featured on page 14 vol. 50, no. 5
Police chief cautions students about date rape USAPD distributes date-rape drug detecting drink coasters to warn women about date rape by genny roman Associate Editor
cassie fambro / editor-in-Chief
(Left to right) David Freese, P.J. Walters, Marlon Anderson, Jon Lieber, Allen Battle and Lance Johnson were honored at the First Pitch Banquet Tuesday night.
Last week, the USA police department released an unexpected, but very useful, tool to the South Alabama community. The police department gave out drink coasters that detect date rape drugs in beverages. According to USAPD Chief of Police Zeke Aull, the coasters are designed to find up to 250 date rape drugs, including gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB) and rohypnol (more commonly known as a “roofie”). The coasters are simple to use. A person just has to place a drop of their beverage on the test strip and wait to see if it turns dark blue. If the spot turns dark blue, then the drink tests positive. The event of a false positive is not likely, but possible. The company, Drink Safe Technology, cites on the back of the coaster that false positives do happen on occasion. A positive result does not mean a drink has an illicit drug, but that there is something present in the drink that should not
be there. They warn that a positive-testing drink should not be consumed, though. Aull actually ran a number of beverage tests himself with a variety of common date rape drugs and found each test accurate. “I’ve not had a failure yet,” he said. Aull stated there is no substitute for practicing common sense when going out, but he said the coasters are one way to stay safe. “We wanted to give students a tool that could be used in real world situations,” Aull said. “This is only one piece of the pie, though.” Amy Spivey, a senior management major, thought the coasters are a good idea “if executed well.” She also said “anything that makes our campus and community safer is a good thing.” Anastasia Hill, a sophmore art history major, echoed Spivey and said that if “the coasters simply test drinks for drugs, then it would be very effective ... I’d take a see page 5
Officer Green honored in Mobile procession The Mobile officer who was killed in the line of duty honored by USAPD officers by Kalyn McClellan Jaglife Writer
Kalyn McClellan / Photographer
USAPD participated in the police convoy during the procession to honor Green along with officers from surrounding counties and states.
It was a service fit to honor a hero on Wednesday when Mobile Police Officer Steven Green was laid to rest. Green was killed in the line of duty on Feb. 3 when he was stabbed by an inmate he transported to Mobile Metro Jail. Officer Green’s funeral service took place at the Sunlight District Auditorium in Prichard and was followed by a processional to Lawn Haven Memorial Gardens. According to al.com, over 500 people attended the service, many standing outside the auditorium paying their respects. During the service, Mobile Mayor Sam Jones read a letter from President Barack
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Obama, offering his condolences. Mobile Police Capt. Jack Dove, Green’s supervisor, said in an interview that Green “liked being a police officer.” After the funeral, hundreds of law enforcement vehicles lined up in a processional to escort the hearse from the auditorium to the cemetery. The processional was more than 10 miles long, as law enforcement from three states honored their fallen brother. At least three patrol cars from the University of South Alabama campus police were in the processional. Police cars from Huntsville, Birmingham, Gulfport, Miss. Crestview, Fla., and Pensacola, Fla. were just some of the few that joined officers from all over Mobile County.
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As the processional made its way to the cemetery, traffic came to a stand-still, even along the Interstate 65 portion of the route, and hundreds of people lined the streets, some holding signs, others holding flags, to show support for Green’s family and to honor the local hero. At the intersection of Government Boulevard and Knollwood Drive, Mobile FireRescue displayed a massive American flag, suspended between two ladder trucks, which the hearse passed under. A spokesperson for the family said the show of support “has been wonderful.” “We thank God for everyone that came out and supported Officer Green and the family. It’s just beautiful. It’s just overwhelming,” said the spokesperson.
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