St. Paul Police cite four girls for drinking during school class
ST. PAUL (AP) -- Four girls at Highland Park Senior High School were cited by police for drinking vodka during class, officer Pete Crum said.
Three 14-year-old girls and a 15-year-old girl passed around the vodka, which was concealed in a water bottle, during a second-period class, Crum said Thursday.
An assistant principal saw one of the girls stumbling down the stairs Monday morning and took her to the nurse's office, Crum said. Another one of the girls who had been drinking already was there, he said.
Police learned about the other two girls during their investigation, Crum said.
The 15-year-old girl had a blood-alcohol content of 0.172, more than double the legal limit to drive in Minnesota of 0.08, Crum said. Two of the other girls tested just under 0.08, he said.
The fourth girl, who told police she didn't know there was alcohol in the bottle she drank from, wasn't tested because police didn't find out until later that she was involved, Crum said.
Police cited the girls for underage drinking and released them to their parents.
St. Paul Public Schools spokesman Brett Johnson described the incident as "isolated." The minimum school penalty for the girls will be suspension of up to three days and they will be referred for a chemical health evaluation, he said.
