DRUG RULES LESS STRICT IN DENVER

Suburban Police Tougher In Screening New Recruits

The restrictions that limit anyone who experimented with drugs -- or even
abused them -- from becoming a Denver police officer are less severe than
elsewhere in Colorado and the nation.

In fact, some suburban departments' rules on past drug use are so strict
that people intent on wearing a uniform, badge and gun belt sometimes don't
even bother applying, suburban police officials said.

Not in Denver, where the Civil Service Commission that hires officers
revealed that two of every three newly hired candidates admitted to some
kind of drug use. Suburban departments say that number is closer to one of
every five of their new hires.

That has to change, some city officials said.

"I absolutely, strongly feel that we need a department that's considered
above the standard, anyone's standard," Denver Councilman Ted Hackworth
said. "Right now that's not the case."

Candidates to wear the Denver police badge cannot have used drugs for one
year before applying to the department, according to commission rules that
have existed for about a decade. That means any candidate who admits to
using any drug more than a year ago in any quantity for any period of time
- -- is reviewed on a case-by-case basis but isn't automatically disqualified.

That's too soon to ensure someone won't go back to previous habits,
especially under the stress of patrolling Denver's streets, according to
Denver Councilman Ed Thomas, a 22-year veteran of the department who
retired in 1993.

"No kidding?" Thomas said when told of the one-year rule. "I think those
kind of qualifications need to be strengthened. A longer period of time
gives them more of an opportunity to be responsible, especially if they
have a long history of drug abuse."

The rules that govern the selection process for Denver police applicants
are under fire because a 40-year-old Denver man intent on becoming an
officer has a history of drug use and personal problem that allegedly ended
in 1987.

While the pattern of drug abuse wouldn't have disqualified Ellis "Max"
Johnson II from being considered, it would have given area police officials
pause before hiring him. Denver officials refused to hire Johnson four
other times since 1994, although it's unclear whether that has any
connection to his admitted drug use.

Even in Glendale, where Johnson was hired onto the police force in 1997 and
washed out just six week into his training program, official wonder why
Johnson wasn't passer over, considering his long history of drugs.

"I had my own set of question as to how we got him," City Manager Veggo
Larsen said. Other departments -- Colorado Springs, Boulder and the
Colorado State Patrol, for instance -- prohibit marijuana usage for at
least three years before applying to the police force and have a five-year
prohibition on harder drugs.

In Cleveland, where police officer candidates are allowed to have been
convicted of possessing marijuana -- no Colorado police force allows a drug
conviction of any kind -- recruits still cannot have used drugs for at
least three years, officials there said. And in Arizona, you can't be
certified to be a police officer if you've used marijuana more than five
times after your 21st birthday. That would have disqualified some of
Denver's most recent applicants before they even got in the door.

"One year? Yikes!" said Boulder Deputy Police Chief David Hayes. "I don't
think there's enough time; that's not enough of a waiting period. It seems
that you have to have some time frame where they're not using them to go
by. Some people come here, see our restrictions, and leave without ever
applying."

Johnson, the Denver police recruit attracting all the attention, applied 32
times to 21 departments. On his Denver application, he admitted to using
drugs -- some as potent as LSD and crack cocaine -- more than 150 times.
More disconcerting to critics, however, is that Johnson flunked police
background investigations six times -- including in Denver in 1996.

"It's hard to comprehend how he could have failed in 1996 and gotten
another chance," Hackworth said Tuesday. Hackworth is among a group of
council members who hope to change the criteria by which police recruits
are chosen, particularly when it comes to a candidate's history of drug use.

"I believe we should expect our officers to live by a higher standard than
normal citizens," Hackworth said. "The criteria should also be of a higher
standard, at least five years for marijuana usage and 10 years for any
other heavier drug use. We're now questioning the process that even allowed
Johnson to get on the list at all." It's unclear why Johnson's background
disqualified him from joining the Denver department three years ago but not
this fall, when he was chosen to enter the police academy.

Although commission officials have refused to comment on the matter,
commission rules allow unsuccessful candidates to apply repeatedly.

For Civil Service Commissioner Chris Olson, who also is Englewood's
director of safety services and a 24-year veteran of that department,
Denver's criteria for choosing officers are different than even his own
department because of the vast pool of people from which they're pulling.

"Denver needs to hire a lot more people than the suburban departments, so
with a larger pool, it's more likely the percentage of those who recently
used drugs is higher," Olson said.

But Olson agrees that the standards for previous drug usage for a Denver
officer should be reflective of surrounding departments, including his own.
In Englewood, a candidate would be disqualified if they had used drugs
within the last five years, Olson said.

"There's really no department that has zero tolerance; it's just
impossible," Olson said. "While I do believe Denver's standards should
change, we're having a hard enough time filling positions there."

Englewood was one of the agencies to which Johnson applied in 1995, when
Olson was deputy director of the department. Johnson was booted from
further consideration after he failed to pass a background investigation.

Olson refused to discuss any details of Johnson's background, saying he was
not part of the Englewood selection process that terminated Johnson from
further consideration.

COMPARING DRUG POLICIES

Drug policies for candidates at various law-enforcement agencies: DENVER:
Cannot have used drugs for one year before applying. No restriction on type
or quantity of drug, or how long it was used. Candidates who admit to
earlier drug use are reviewed case-by-case.

COLORADO SPRINGS, BOULDER, COLORADO STATE PATROL: Prohibit marijuana usage
for at least three years; a five-year prohibition on harder drugs.

CLEVELAND: Recruits cannot have used drugs for at least three years.

ARIZONA: Bans candidates who have used marijuana more than five times after
their 21st birthday.