The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Parent faces criminal charges
Prosecuters charge 45-year-old resident in 'party bus' incident
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: June 5, 2008
In the wake of a two-week-long investigation by Pittsfield Township police into a group of parents who commandeered a charter bus to "party on" after it dropped off their children at the Saline High School prom, a 45-year-old Pittsfield Township man was charged May 30 with the misdemeanor of consuming alcohol on school property.
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A Pittsfield Township police officer identified the man at a Saline varsity girls' soccer game May 20 as one he witnessed drinking beer outside the bus while it was parked in the high school parking lot, according to police reports obtained by The Saline Reporter through the Freedom of Information Act.
The man had refused through his lawyer to give police a statement during the investigation, according to reports.
Police interviewed seven individuals believed to have been among approximately 20 adults who boarded a parked chartered bus the evening of May 3. The limo bus, rented from A-1 Limousines, had dropped off an estimated 36 students at the high school after having taken them to dinner in Troy.
As the group of students was entering the prom, one was visibly intoxicated, school officials said, and was required to take a breathalyzer. Officials said the student registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent, which is more than the legal limit for adults 21 and older, and was arrested as a minor in possession.
After the bus parked, police and school administrators noticed the bus "rocking back and forth sideways," according to reports, and went to ensure there were no other students on the bus possibly drinking.
They hadn't seen anyone board the bus. The bus then started to drive toward an exit, but the officer flagged the vehicle down, according to reports. When he and a school administrator boarded the bus, they found the adults.
"Most of the occupants that I saw had open bottled beers in their hands," writes Officer Mark Haddow in his report. "I could also smell the alcohol in the enclosed space."
The adults told Haddow they were the parents of the students who were dropped off and since they had rented the bus, "they were going to get their money's worth while the students were at the prom."
Police later learned that the students didn't know the parents were going to get on the bus, according to reports.
Haddow, who in his report writes that he was not familiar with the statute about consuming alcohol on school property by those of legal drinking age, allowed the bus to leave with instructions that when it returned to pick up the students the parents and alcohol should be off the bus.
The following Monday, Pittsfield Township Deputy Director of Police Services Elizabeth McGuire ordered an investigation into the incident.
Over the next several days, police attempted to identify and interview adults believed to have been on the bus. Saline lacrosse coach John Harris contacted McGuire to say he had been in the group. Harris was temporarily suspended from his coaching duties while school administrators investigated his involvement in the incident. He was cleared of any wrongdoing and reinstated.
Harris denied drinking on the bus, but did confirm that other adults were drinking beer on the bus while it was on school grounds.
Other interviewees were less cooperative, according to reports.
One parent, who denied being on the bus at all, characterized the questioning as "police harassment."
Several parents told police it was their job to find out who had been drinking and refused to provide further information. Another said she didn't see alcohol on the bus and didn't see anyone drinking. Others declined to provide statements.
Police also interviewed the driver of the bus, who said he saw two cases of beer brought on the bus and two cases leave the bus when the parents got off later that evening, according to reports. As the parents were leaving the bus, the driver told police he found a flask in a built-in ice chest and handed it over to one of the parents.
The incident drew wide media attention and condemnation from school officials, who said it sent the wrong message to teens.
"We're glad to see the investigation has wound to a close and are looking forward to a speedy resolution," said Superintendent Scot Graden.
The charge of consuming alcohol on school property is punishable by up to 93 days in jail and/or a $250 fine.
Staff Writer Brian Cox can be reached at 429-7380 or bcox@heritage.com.
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