cannabisnews.com: Alliance Unrelenting in War Against Drugs!





Alliance Unrelenting in War Against Drugs!
Posted by FoM on April 18, 1999 at 16:37:28 PT
Source: Beacon Journal
ALLIANCE: After years of having the unwanted reputation of being a high violent-crime area, this city of about 27,000 residents is trying to charge in the other direction.Since early January, the Alliance police have been turned into what some might call vicious dogs, waging a relentless attack on drug traffickers.
The turnaround began late last year when Alliance police and city officials decided that much of the city's violent crime over the last several years was triggered by drug use and drug dealing.The attack wasn't publicly noticed until the series of 13 raids by Alliance police and federal agents in the Carnation City on Jan. 7. In the following three months, the two-man Alliance narcotics unit -- with aid from fellow officers and other area law enforcement agencies -- has bashed its way into alleged drug-trafficking and drug-manufacturing havens, sending a message that has some drug dealers on the run.Alliance Police Chief Larry Dordea is so pleased with the officers' success and professionalism in handling the cases that he has given the OK push ahead.And push forward they have.In the 42 raids so far this year, including the 13 federal raids with Alliance police assistance, 78 individuals have been charged, according to Griffith.Just under six pounds of cocaine, valued at $84,000, has been seized, along with crack cocaine valued at over $14,000.Marijuana seizures are valued at just over $11,000, while nearly $120,000 in cash plus 21 guns and 15 vehicles have been seized as a result of the raids.Police even found $191 worth of food stamps that tested positive for cocaine residue.``The closer we looked at our reputation and the possible causes for it, the more we realized that the violent and property crimes were drug-related,'' said Dordea, Alliance's top cop since July 28.``With that in mind, we have become very active and are getting deeper into the drug pool. When we see the dramatic results we're achieving, it just fuels our desire to do even more.``We conducted more raids in March (13) than in 1996 or 1997. Our actions are extreme and the results are dramatic. We no longer have the words `slow down' in our vocabulary.``And we have a very supportive administration and City Council encouraging us to keep going.''An alleged drug dealer captured in Portage County's Brimfield Township last month said he had left Alliance ``because it was too hot to sell drugs there.''When he saw Alliance drug agent Don Bartolet and Detective Sgt. Scott Griffith, commander of the Alliance narcotics unit, the suspect commented that ``coming 30 miles wasn't far enough to get away from you,'' Griffith said.``Cooperation of all our officers and manpower strength allows these raids right now,'' said Griffith. ``We have a police chief who has given us pretty much free rein to take such action, and a very efficient and very improved special response team that executes the warrants.``We get complaints from the patrol division and citizens concerning locations where drug sales are suspected. And then we get outstanding cooperation among all our troops and assisting area and federal agencies.''Mayor Judy Carr said last week, ``We are on a roll, and we feel we should take advantage of federal grants to add officers to our department to improve on the health, safety and welfare of our citizens in the best way we know how.``Going after these criminals is something that we have wanted to do. For some reason in the past, dealers and people in crack houses always seemed to know when we were coming. I don't know how they knew or why, but I'm convinced they don't know now.''
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Comment #1 posted by DONALD.STANLEY. on August 20, 2001 at 09:13:23 PT:
ALLIANCE POLICE 
WELL I THINK ITS TIME TOO ADDRESS THE POLICE MISCONDUCT IN THE CITY OF ALLIANCE . MY LIFE HAS BEEN ROUGH LIVING IN THE CITY OF ALLIANCE. WELCH # 266 , WHEELER # 906 HAVE BOTH TOLD ME THAT I WOULD COME UP STINKEN . WHEELER WAS THE MOST RECENT THREAT . WELCH HAS WENT INTO THE COURTROOM IN ALLIANCE AND LIED ON THE STAND . I DONT FEEL THAT ALLIANCE POLICE ARE DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB AS EVERYONE THINKS.IF ANYONE ELSE OUT IN THE CITY OF ALLIANCE HAVE BEEN DONE WRONG BY ALLIANCE POLICE DEPARTMENT PLEASE SEND ME A MSG . TOGETHER WE STOP THE POLICE MISCONDUCT . DONT BE AFRAID WE HAVE RIGHTS . THANK YOU !
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