South drug sweep turns up little,
but police say message was sent

More than two dozen police officers and at least 10 dogs sniffed and searched their way through Grosse Pointe South High School on Wednesday morning (April 28), looking for illegal drugs while students stayed locked down in classrooms. They found only a small amount of marijuana and paraphernalia, but Farms public safety director Dan Jensen called the operation a success just the same.

"Bottom line, parents expect, and kids deserve, a safe, drug-free environment to learn in," he said. The unannounced search sends a message to anyone who might think it's acceptable to bring drugs onto school grounds: It's not.

Jensen said the search was done at the request of principal Al Diver and with the approval of superintendent Suzanne Klein. They did not know when police would arrive, however.

When officers from the Farms and other jurisdictions arrived with their drug-sniffing dogs, the school was locked down. The animals inspected every locker as well as all the cars in the parking lot and those parked on streets around the school. The search took an hour and 15 minutes, after which students were released to continue the school day.

Jensen said the dogs "hit on about two dozen lockers," but most contained no drugs. The canines' reaction may have been to residual odors in those or adjacent lockers. 

Despite the minimal findings, Jensen said the search was "a clear shot across the bow that the school system is taking this seriously. We will be coming back unannounced. The school won't tolerate illegal drugs."

Senior Clair Ekert of the Park said South isn't drug-free:

"I know that there are certainly students who decide to use drugs not only before or after school but during lunches, and come to classes under the influence of drugs or alcohol. I have had the experience of coming to school after lunch and smelling pot on kids during fourth hour. Do the majority of kids go to lunch and smoke pot? Probably not. It would be unfair to say that all South students are doing drugs."

Because Grosse Pointe North High School is in another jurisdiction, Jensen couldn't speak to whether a similar operation might be in the planning stages for that school. Students certainly made that connection, however. One of the officers' wives teaches at North, he said, and reported her students' text messages were coming fast and furious.

"They were saying, 'You're next,'" said Jensen. 

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