DARE Vehicle Found Carrying Marijuana, Sex Toys
A citizen's watchdog group wants a new probe into an incident involving a sheriff's deputy assigned to DARE. Sex toys and marijuana were found inside the deputy's anti-drug vehicle -- but calls for legal action are hitting the skids.
Deputy Bud Cason resigned in March after New Orleans police pulled over his SUV, emblazoned with the DARE logo.
Cason wasn't in the vehicle that Mardi Gras morning, but his friend Kentrell Smith was. Police found marijuana in the SUV and arrested Smith on drug charges, WDSU-TV reports.
Cason -- known to school kids as "Deputy Bud" -- told police he'd carelessly let Smith drive his DARE unit to a store.
An internal investigation did not lead to charges, but Cason's career went to pot. He stepped down citing health reasons, after 27 years on the force.
Now a police memo has turned up, revealing what else cops found in Cason's vehicle assigned to DARE: Sex toys and stimulants, stashed in a backpack.
Cason first told cops the backpack was his -- but then shifted the blame to Smith, whom Cason said "was battling a sex addiction," WDSU-TV reports. But the police memo says the backpack also contained Deputy Bud's DARE business cards, and mail addressed to his wife.
New Orleans' Metropolitan Crime Commission wants a new investigation, considering Deputy Bud's DARE vehicle could have transported children.
But Cason's former boss, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards, told WDSU-TV that's not going to happen. Because Cason is no longer a deputy, he is no longer subject to internal investigations.
The backpack's contents "are certainly disturbing," Edwards said, but "their possession is not criminal."
As Cason sits out his retirement, his friend Smith has yet to stand trial for his pot-possession charges. Deputy Bud's daring sex toy stash is playing no part in that.
Related Resources
- Bud Cason resigns from Sheriff's Office (ActionNews17.com)
- Mass. Police Can't Act on Smell of Burnt Marijuana in Car (FindLaw's Decided)
- Sex Toy Assault: Woman Attacks Cop With 'Pleasure Device' (FindLaw's Legally Weird)