POLICE DETECT DRUGS IN EX-D.C. MAYOR'S CAR

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Park Police, using a preliminary field test, found
apparent traces of marijuana and cocaine in former District of Columbia
Mayor Marion Barry's car while he was parked in a remote part of southwest
Washington, authorities said this weekend.

No arrest was made in the incident, which began about 9 p.m. Thursday as
Barry sat in a Jaguar, which he told police was his. The amounts of drugs
allegedly detected in a police field test were described as too small to
support a prosecution.

Barry's attorney, Fred Cooke Jr., said Saturday night that Barry "denies
being in the possession of any illegal drugs." He said Barry--who could not
be reached for comment--consented to the search because "he didn't have
anything to hide." Cooke said that, in Barry's view, the search confirmed
that nothing illegal was found.

Cooke also said that many things yield a positive result in the field test
for drugs, which is why it is generally only a precursor to laboratory
testing. For example, residue picked up on shoes could adhere to the floor
of a car, he said.

Barry, 66, was convicted of a misdemeanor count of cocaine possession after
being arrested in 1990 in a downtown Washington hotel. He subsequently has
said on many occasions that he is drug- and alcohol-free, and he recently
announced that he would seek to return to public life by running for an
at-large council seat this year.

Sgt. Scott Fear, a Park Police spokesman, said the Thursday encounter began
when an officer responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle in a
no-parking zone.

After the officer walked toward the parked car, he saw that the occupant
appeared to be "ingesting something," Fear said.

The officer noticed a "powdery substance" under Barry's nose, according to
Fear's account. A supervisor was notified, and police asked that a dog
trained to detect drugs be brought to the scene.

He said that the dog "alerted," or "hit positive," on something in the car,
indicating that it had probably detected illicit materials.

A field test was done on the interior of the car, and it indicated positive
for "residues" of marijuana and cocaine, Fear said.

The exact amount of suspect materials was not specified. But Fear said it
was deemed so small that police did not make an arrest.

No test was made of the powder reportedly observed under Barry's nose, Fear
said.

He added that the procedures followed by police in the incident would have
been used in an encounter with any other person.

In announcing March 6 that he planned to run for the D.C. Council, Barry
said he hoped to return to "my calling" of public office.