Police: Cocaine found at St. Petersburg fire station

ST. PETERSBURG — Last week a firefighter found something in a fire station washing machine that has left St. Petersburg Fire Rescue feeling very unclean:

Cocaine.

Now the city's police officers are conducting a criminal investigation into the city's firefighters.

"This is just a black eye for the fire department," Assistant Fire Chief James Wimberly Jr. said on Thursday.

The St. Petersburg Police Department launched two investigations: one by narcotics detectives that could lead to arrests and criminal charges, the other by the police's internal affairs unit to determine if fire department and city policies were broken.

The cocaine powder was found Sept. 18 in a small plastic bag at Lake Maggiore Station 8 at 4701 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. S. Several firefighters were doing laundry there at the time. The find was reported to police at 4:51 p.m. A police officer tested the substance at the station to confirm it was cocaine.

Police and fire officials would not release any other details. They would not say what role drug testing could have in the investigation or discuss what actions could be taken against any firefighter linked to the drug. Firefighters from all over the city rotate in and out of the station.

In the meantime, Wimberly said, Station 8 will operate normally.

Jamal Thalji can be reached at thalji@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8472.