DEP: Northwest Florida animal shelter violated state law by burning drug evidence - WEAR
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- New documents reveal a Northwest Florida animal shelter has been burning drug evidence for the Fort Walton Beach Police Department.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is now putting a stop to it.
The DEP sent a letter to PAWS in Fort Walton Beach on Jan. 27.
The letter stated the organization was in non-compliance after the DEP found out drugs and drug paraphernalia were being burned inside of the shelter's incinerator.
The City of Fort Walton Beach says this was done a few times per year, depending on volume.
The DEP is citing a state law, saying only animal materials are allowed to be burned inside of a shelter crematorium. One of the concerns stated by the DEP was pollutants entering the air.
Fort Walton Beach Police Department sent Channel 3 this statement on Wednesday:
The chief was not aware of the DEP issue you mentioned. All of the department’s seized drug evidence that was eligible for disposal was disposed of through the PAWS facility. Quantities are not available without a significant expenditure of time and energy from evidence personnel. Persons present for the disposals were one member of the evidence unit along with a sworn police officer for security and as a witness. All disposals were completed under a court order.
Audio from the board meeting reveals officers sometimes left glass and other paraphernalia inside of the incinerator.
"Of course it costs money to run that thing, so I've got Maggie working on a policy where we will go into who can use the crematorium, the cost associated, and explain what they can and cannot bring," Tracey Williams said at a PAWS board meeting in January. "Because the last burn that we had, the paraphernalia was still intact, so we had to call the police department."
On Feb. 1, the DEP sent a letter back to PAWS stating they were back in compliance.
source: https://weartv.com/news/local/dep-northwest-florida-animal-shelter-violated-state-law-by-burning-drug-evidence
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