Alleged drink tampering at Kalamazoo bar prompts thousands to sign online petition
Updated Apr 19, 2021;
Posted Apr 19, 2021
Y Bar and Bistro located at 2941 Howard St in Campus Pointe across from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Thursday, April 15, 2021. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)Joel Bissell | MLive.com
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KALAMAZOO, MI A Tik Tok video that went viral last week, prompting an investigation into alleged drink tampering at a Kalamazoo bar, has led to thousands to sign an online petition.
In the video, the woman speaking said late last week she and 14 others were drugged at the Y Bar & Bistro, located near WMU’s main campus in the Campus Pointe Mall at Howard Street and West Michigan Avenue.
We could have died : Michigan college student accuses a local bar staffer of drugging her and more than 13 friends with OPIOIDS before making sexual comments and trying to give them a ride home
Western Michigan University student Grace Van Overberghe raised the alarm on TikTok this week with a viral video
She said she and at least 13 friends tested positive for opioids the morning after visiting Y-Bar and Bistro in Kalamazoo and reported it to the police several times
They were all served by the same staffer the entire night and said he then followed them to Fort Lauderdale Our doctor literally told us that we should have died last night, she added, while her friend Abigail said she knows of other women with similar experiences
Police investigate alleged ‘drink tampering’ at bar near Western Michigan University
Updated Apr 15, 2021;
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KALAMAZOO, MI Police are investigating after a woman in a viral video alleged that more than a dozen people were drugged at a bar near Western Michigan University’s campus.
Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Vernon Coakley Jr. responded with a video statement on Thursday, April 15, saying several detectives have been assigned to investigate the allegations of “drink tampering” at Y Bar in Kalamazoo.
The department is looking into multiple tips received in the past 24 hours, Coakley said.
In the video, the woman speaking identifies the person she believes is responsible. The Gazette is not naming the person at this time, as police have not issued any criminal charges.
‘I’m being led by my heart,’ new Kalamazoo police chief says
Updated Jan 18, 2021;
KALAMAZOO, MI Three months ago, Vernon Coakley Jr. took over as chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.
Replacing his predecessor who was fired, and taking the leadership role amid community outrage over police actions during the summer, the task Coakley inherited did not come without challenges. But the veteran police officer said he is confident, with his experience and support from others in the department, he has what it takes to take the department in the right direction.
“I was built and ready to do this,” Coakley said during a Jan. 13 virtual interview with MLive. “I had people that mentored me before, and I’m thankful for them. Along the way, as I went through this 28 years, I got to say I wasn’t thinking of sitting in this seat. But 28 years prepared me for when this opportunity came along that I was ready to sit in this seat.”