INDUSTRY NEWS
Cops Avoid Drug Tests that Other City Workers Must Take
Detective Jeffery Hughes has been in critical condition since last November, when his car abruptly veered into a guardrail on a Wisconsin interstate and flipped, throwing him from the vehicle and landing him in the hospital in critical condition. Before he got in his car to head home that day, Hughes checked out 4.8 grams of heroin from the police property room.
The heroin was found inside the detective's car, minus 0.4 grams, along with a plastic tube that could have been used to snort the drug.
The drugs had been slated for destruction and Hughes had no direct involvement in the case. He also had no direct involvement in the majority of the cases resulting in the confiscation of heroin that Hughes allegedly checked out of the property room on at least 10 other occasions.
In addition to shedding light on flawed evidence room procedures, the Hughes case has brought attention to the city's drug testing policies.
City of Madison employees who drive heavy machinery and buses are subject to random drug testing, but those charged with protecting the public are not. Despite the fact that they often operate machinery as heavy as that used by those who are required to take such tests, police and fire employees are exempt from random testing.
A Sheriff's Department spokesperson attributes the lack of testing to a philosophical belief that police officers and firefighters don't use illegal drugs. Despite that expectation, however, random drug testing may soon become a part of the job for Madison police and fire employees.
(Source: http://www.madison.com)
| 
