POLICE OFFICER'S BEHAVIOR CAUSES LOSS OF CREDIBILITY

Dear Editor,

As an average, hard-working and law-abiding citizen the newspaper article
about the cop who used marijuana appalled me. First of all, if that had
happened to anybody else - they would have been arrested not only for
smoking marijuana but also for having eight beers that supposedly impaired
his judgement. Did the cop drive home with eight beers in him? That is
surely grounds for a "DUI." Second, why didn't he discourage the people
smoking at his family gathering instead of joining in - this does cause
police to lose credibility.

Everyone has a clean record until they are caught. Do we get a second
chance? If there is a "zero tolerance" policy on drugs, you know you might
be randomly picked for a drug test, why would anyone take the chance? A
lot of companies have "zero tolerance" and have random drug tests - when
the test is positive the person is fired immediately. This incident should
be no different. No one gives the rest of us a second chance.

The message being sent here is that it is okay if you are a cop and this is
exactly why the state police were against letting him keep his job. Since
when does a judge and State Police Merit Board have the right to overturn
any company's zero-tolerance policy?

Kathy Lyons
Waverly