PASSAIC PROSECUTOR ORDERS DRUG TEST FOR COPS

In a move unprecedented in New Jersey, Passaic County Prosecutor Ronald Fava
announced yesterday that he will require random drug testing for officers in
all 16 of his county's municipal police departments.

Fava is the first prosecutor to enact a countywide requirement for drug
testing since former Attorney General Peter Verniero issued guidelines a
year ago that gave prosecutors such discretion.

The new policy will affect more than 1,000 officers in 16 Passaic County
communities, as well as officers in the Passaic County Sheriff's Department,
investigators in the prosecutor's office and some officers at William
Paterson University in Wayne.

The prosecutor, a Republican who is known to be angling for a judicial
appointment, said he was not motivated by any particular incident, but felt
drug testing was a good way to ensure police integrity.

"I think it's an excellent deterrent" Fava said. "These are responsible
positions. People are making life-or-death decisions. We don't want their
judgment impaired."

A lawsuit challenging drug testing at NJ Transit led to a state Supreme
Court decision in 1997 that upheld random testing for police. Previously,
law enforcement officers could be tested only at the time of hiring or if
there was a reasonable cause to suspect the officer was using drugs.

Verniero issued guidelines in September of last year that established random
testing for State Police personnel and empowered county prosecutors and
municipal police officers to enact such policies at their discretion.

In January, the city of Orange became the first police department in the
state to start random drug testing of its officers.

Fava has asked police departments to submit a random testing plan to him by
Oct. 15 and expects testing to begin by Jan. 1. Departments will be
required to randomly test at least 20 percent of their police officers each
year for illegal drugs and to hold at least two testing sessions annually.

Passaic City Police Chief Stanley Jarensky, who is the president of the
local chiefs' association, said his department supports the policy and had
planned to start random testing even before the prosecutor announced his plan.

"Every citizen has the right to know that the citizens who are sworn to
protect them, take a life and use a gun are not under the influence of
drugs," he said.

Anthony Fusco Jr., a Passaic attorney who represents the New Jersey State
Fraternal Order of Police, said the police union has long been against
random testing. He said it puts an undue burden on officers without proof
that they are breaking the law.

"Why should these officers have to submit to anything when they're not
violating the law? he asked.

However, Fusco said he expects that random drug testing will eventually
become policy in all of the state's 21 counties.

Fava said officers will be allowed to give two urine samples - one that will
be sent to a state toxicology laboratory for testing and one that would
remain under seal at their local police department. In the case of a
positive test result, the officer would be allowed to submit the second
sample for testing at an independent laboratory.

The prosecutor said he plans to offer to pay for the first year of testing
for local agencies through forfeiture funds and expects police departments
to pay for tests subsequent years.

Paterson Police Chief Lawrence Spagnola, whose 454-member department is the
largest in the county after the 510-member sheriff's department, said he
expects to begin testing 100 officers a year come January.

"I don't see any problem with it," he said. "I'll stand right there and do
it alongside the next guy."

Police brass are required to be part of the random testing pool under Fava's
policy, and a refusal by any officer to take the urine test will lead to
automatic firing, the same result as if an officer had taken a drug test and
failed.

James Katz, an attorney in Cherry Hill who often does work for the American
Civil Liberties Union, said he believes the policy may be unconstitutional
and could be subject to a court challenge.

Katz also questioned whether a county prosecutor can enforce a random drug
testing policy on employees who are not his own, particularly when most
local police departments have negotiated contracts with individual towns.

The random testing idea received mixed reviews in other counties. Interim
Essex County Prosecutor Donald Campolo said he had just decided on Tuesday
to implement random drug testing in his office. He said he had no immediate
plans with regard to local police departments, but said he would see how
things worked in Passaic County.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Glenn Berman said he has no immediate plans to
enact such a policy.

"Before I would do something like that, I would certainly need to sit down
with the county association of police chiefs and directors and discuss it
with them," he said. "But the fact that I am not doing it should not be
taken as a criticism of Prosecutor Fava. I'm sure he has his reasons for
doing it."

Staff writer William Kleinknecht contributed to this report.