RANDOM DRUG TESTS FOR COPS RULED OUT

An arbitrator has ruled that the city of Yakima cannot impose a
mandatory random drug testing program on its police officers, handing
Police Chief Sam Granato and City Manager Dick Zais a big setback.
Seattle arbitrator Mike Beck nixed the proposal because no comparably
sized city has random drug testing, and because the city failed to
prove that a drug problem existed on the police force or that
mandatory testing would deter drug use. It was the one major issue
left over from a lengthy contract negotiation.

The decision, issued Tuesday, leaves in place the current "reasonable
suspicion" policy that police union officials argued would more
quickly identify violators. Granato and Zais had proposed to randomly
test 25 percent of the force each year.

Beck, an attorney and arbitration specialist, ruled on the basis of
comparing contract provisions in comparably sized West Coast
jurisdictions, since no federal or state constitutional provisions
apply.

"It is fair to conclude that these (other comparable) jurisdictions
either do not believe that a random drug testing program would serve
as a deterrent to drug use, or if a random drug testing program can be
considered a deterrent to drug use, such a program presents other
difficulties which have persuaded these jurisdictions not to implement
random drug testing," Beck wrote.

The random drug testing proposal had been a bitterly fought issue
since Granato first proposed it on the eve of contract renewal talks
in 2005. The police union, the Yakima Police Patrolman's Association,
had argued that the city made the proposal to pressure the union to
accept a wage freeze.

On Wednesday, the association hailed Beck's decision. Sgt. Bob Hester,
the association's president, said "our members are glad this is
finally over and we have been vindicated. We have been saying all
along that we have a clean and professional department and, clearly,
the arbitrator agreed."

City officials reacted with disappointment, saying Yakima residents
are entitled to expect law enforcement officers to be drug-free. Zais
suggested that the city would lobby state legislators to require
random drug testing in contracts for all public safety employees.

"The community deserves to have the highest level of confidence that
its police officers are not impaired and are completely fit for duty,"
Zais said in a news release Wednesday. "Random drug testing would go a
long way toward accomplishing that. ... Despite the opinion of the
arbitrator, we'll keep working to achieve that goal."

In an interview, Mayor Dave Edler said he, too, is disappointed the
issue even had to be arbitrated.

"I would hope we could come to a place where police and fire would be
willing to submit to random drug testing," he said. "I absolutely
believe it's time for the labor units to do that."

The arbitrator's decision would appear to end the long-standing issue
at least on the contract level, since both sides agreed to submit the
dispute to binding arbitration, which requires both sides to abide by
the outcome. Granato has been pushing for random testing since he
became chief in 2003.

Random testing of some city employees

The city put the random drug testing issue on the table at the start
of talks for a new labor agreement more than two years ago. Both sides
declared an impasse in the talks last fall, agreeing to submit 17
issues to binding arbitration. The two sides later reached settlement
on all items but the drug testing issue, which went to a hearing
before Beck in June. Beck's ruling is the result of that hearing.

Yakima already requires random testing for 172 employees, including
Granato, captains and lieutenants in the police department. Emergency
dispatchers for police and fire also are subject to testing, as are
all city employees holding a commercial driver's license. Fire
department battalion chiefs will be randomly tested beginning Jan. 1.
All those employees except those holding a commercial driver's license
have voluntarily agreed to the testing.

The city sought to extend the policy to the 120 commissioned officers
and sergeants covered by the police patrolman's association. But, Beck
noted, they have not agreed to random testing and he couldn't
determine what percentage of the city's total employees are subject to
random testing. So, he said, the city's argument that it simply wanted
to treat the police officers the same as other employees didn't wash.

Hester said the union wanted to negotiate strengthening the reasonable
suspicion policy, which was adopted in 1990. He said the city refused,
instead demanding random testing.

While rejecting random testing, Beck did side with the city on several
issues that add stronger language to the reasonable suspicion testing
policy. He accepted the city's language that defines suspicion as
circumstances strong enough that a reasonable person would suspect
that an employee is under the effects of drugs and/or alcohol. In so
doing, Beck rejected the union's proposal that the suspicion must be
corroborated by a second person.

Reporting fellow officers

Hester argued police officers are motivated to seek help for fellow
officers they suspect are impaired.

"We have to make life-and-death decisions in a very short period of
time," he said. "No one is willing to work with someone who is
impaired and not able to provide proper backup and support."

But Beck rejected another union proposal that would have allowed
officers who become aware of another officer's impairment to assist
the impaired officer in getting help, rather than requiring them to
report the condition to the impaired officer's supervisor. Beck
approved the city's proposal to require reporting to the supervisor.

In an interview, Granato said he's not convinced a police officer
would turn in another member of the force and risk incurring that
person's anger. He said random testing is the added deterrent needed
to make the system work.

"We are dealing with human nature here," Granato said. "While you
would like to believe that is what all employees would do, I think it
is unrealistic to expect that."

The city had argued that the arbitrator should approve its random drug
testing proposal because the public favored it. Granato said he was
disappointed that the arbitrator decided the city hadn't proved that
public support, and that Yakima couldn't establish such a system
unless a similar-size jurisdiction previously did it.

"This arbitrator is saying if you want to try something new, there's
no way to get it done," Granato said.