CICERO POLICE COMMANDER'S DRUG CHARGES MAY BE DROPPED

Cicero police commander's drug charges may be dropped Cook County
state's attorney's official says it's possible once drug program is
completed

Charges of misdemeanor marijuana possession against a Cicero police
commander could be dropped if he completes the drug-diversion program
he entered last month, a spokesman for the Cook County state's
attorney's office said Wednesday.

Wesley Scott, 47, was stopped Jan. 27 in Chicago for allegedly running
a stop sign, and police said they found a burned marijuana cigarette
in the car as well as 4.6 grams of the drug on top of the console.

Scott entered the drug-diversion program, commonly called drug school,
Feb. 20, spokesman Andy Conklin said. Scott is to complete the program
by May 20, when he is scheduled to appear in court. Conklin said the
charges against Scott will be dropped if he completes the program.

After the arrest, Cicero put Scott on paid leave from his $80,000 post
and began an internal investigation that required him to undergo a
drug test. Under the town's new zero-tolerance drug policy, Scott
could lose his job if he fails the test, officials said.

Scott asked to resign from his commander's post and be demoted to the
position of patrolman the day before he took the drug test. Patrol
officers are protected by the union and can only be required to
undergo urine screenings instead of a hair-follicle test, which will
detect drug use for a longer period.

An officer might get a five-day unpaid suspension for a first minor
drug offense, while a commander could be fired, officials said.

The town did not act on Scott's demotion request pending the results
of the investigation. But when town spokesman Dan Proft announced
Scott had passed the Feb. 1 drug screening, he also said Scott
mistakenly had taken a urine test instead of the hair-follicle test
the town had intended.

An investigation into how Scott came to take the wrong test is under
way, Proft said.

Scott took the hair follicle test Feb. 19, the day before he entered
the diversion program. The results came back late last month, but town
officials have declined to make them public, saying they could
jeopardize Scott's drug-possession case. They wanted to wait until
that case was adjudicated.

But the state's attorney's office disagrees. Conklin said Wednesday
that the urine and hair-follicle tests are not relevant to the
criminal court proceedings because they were done before Scott entered
the diversion program.

Told of Conklin's statements Wednesday, Proft said the town still
would not release the drug-test results because of the ongoing
internal investigation.

"The release of the drug-test results in question also factors into
this administrative process to which Wesley is subject, and that has
not been concluded," Proft said.

He said Scott deserves due process "so as the town does not incur
civil liability."

Scott, a 21-year veteran of the force, was the first African-American
police officer hired in Cicero. He remains on paid administrative leave.