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March 8th, 2012
The Truth About False Positives – Part 6
There are even many cases where false positives did ruin someone’s life, not just their day. A man named Don Bolles, a drummer for a punk band was arrested and jailed in April 2007 for three days because of a positive result on a field test that indicated that he was carrying GHB with him. The test performed was a pouch test, where items are closed inside of the pouch and shaken about a little after the breaking of a chemical reagent is added one at a time. They tested a soap they found on him, an all natural soap. As it turns out, all natural soaps would always test positive for GHB through this company’s field test kit. Interestingly the test kit is now purchased more by companies testing their products to see if they are all natural products instead of synthetically made soaps.
This is just one of many examples where someone was incarcerated and unable to prove their innocence before spending time in jail. This poor innocent man spent 3 days in a jail he had no business being in because he was completely innocent of the crime they claimed him to be guilty of. These deceptive field tests have done far more harm than good, and yet despite this alarming evidence and all of the statistics making it clear that false positives are good for no one the force continues to use them. Make sure you’re prepared for this eventuality.