DRUG TEST AFTER POLICE SHOOTING IS DISPUTED

Even with accurate test results of the drugs in Aaron Roberts' blood
when he was fatally shot by police last month, it would be difficult if
not impossible to say with certainty how the substances affected him
that night, the state's top toxicologist said yesterday.

Attorneys for the officer who shot Roberts said this week that
medical-examiner reports found Roberts had traces of cocaine, morphine
and Ecstasy in his system, but they declined to reveal the exact levels.

"You can't relate a specific blood concentration to a specific effect,
and when you mix all three (drugs), all bets are off," said toxicologist
Barry Logan of the State Patrol crime lab.

The officer's lawyers and Roberts' family and supporters have been
sparring over whether the drugs in Roberts' system should even be
relevant in determining whom to blame for the May 31 shooting in the
Central Area.

The officer's attorneys says it's very important. The other side says
it's not at all, arguing that bringing it up is a smear tactic.

Police and prosecutors say Officer Craig Price shot Roberts because his
car was dragging Officer Greg Neubert down the street as Roberts tried
to flee after a traffic stop. Later, it was found that Roberts was
wanted for walking away from a work-release program.

Roberts' family and leaders in the black community don't believe the
police account and say there are witnesses who will report Neubert
wasn't in any danger when Roberts was shot. The shooting has renewed
accusations of police harassment and racial profiling of African
Americans.

Logan explained that each drug can affect each user differently,
especially someone such as Roberts with a long history of abuse. With
the drugs in question, unlike alcohol, there is no legal standard
setting a level for impairment, he said.

Cocaine is a stimulant, morphine a depressant. Taken together, Logan
said, they tend to produce a mellow high. Ecstasy is a form of
amphetamine, he noted, but it tends to produce mood-altering effects
rather than simple stimulation.

"Even if cocaine was the only drug ingested," Logan said, "you can't
predict an effect based solely on a blood level."

Price's and Neubert's attorneys said they released limited information
on the drug tests because news reports last week citing unnamed sources
had given rise to rumors. But they said they won't reveal more precise
details because of confidentiality rules.

The entire reports are expected to be revealed at a public inquest. A
date has not been set.

"Mr. Roberts' behavior was extremely erratic, and this certainly could
be an explanation," said Ted Buck, one of the officer's lawyers.

"It would also certainly go a long way to explain why he wanted to get
away from police officers that evening."

But Roberts' family says no one can say whether he was high on anything
at the time he died or just had leftovers from previous use.

"It sounds like a tactic to justify what they did," said Roberts's
brother, Eric. "And he's dead, so he can't defend himself."

The family suggests that drugs administered by paramedics after the
shooting might have affected the blood tests. Yesterday, Seattle Fire
Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick said paramedics never give
morphine or other narcotics to trauma patients because it would affect
their already-dangerous blood pressure.

The Rev. Robert Jeffrey, whose New Hope Baptist Church is in the Central
Area, argued that the drug levels don't matter.

"Drugs are no excuse for killing someone," he said.

"If drugs are an excuse, they should be shooting a third of the people
in the city. I think they're putting out information to prejudice people
against (Roberts)."