Ala. trooper attends meeting at casino

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama state trooper has attended a meeting on hurricane planning at a Mississippi casino.

The trooper's trip to the casino in Biloxi last week came at the same time state troopers and Gov. Bob Riley's task force on illegal gambling have raided or threatened to raid electronic bingo casinos in Alabama.

Riley's communications director, Jeff Emerson, said Tuesday the governor does not have a policy preventing state employees from attending conferences at Mississippi casinos that are legal.

A spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Pulic Safety, Martha Earnhardt, said the trooper spent one night at the Beau Rivage Casino and Resort in Biloxi while attending the SoutheasernRegional Hurricane Planning Conference. She said DPS director Col.

Chris Murphy approved the trooper's attendance at the conference. She said the trooper, who was not identified, did not gamble.