FIVE BOSTON POLICE OFFICERS TEST POSITIVE

Five Boston police officers have been stripped of their badges and suspended
after testing positive for illegal drugs under the department's
controversial new screening program.

In August, after a prolonged contract battle with the Boston Police
Patrolmen's Association, the department won the right to test police
officers once a year.

The practice began Jan. 4, and about 350 officers have been tested so
far, said Sergeant Detective Margot Hill, a Police Department
spokeswoman. The officers who failed represent only 2 percent of those
tested, she added. ''Obviously there is need for drug testing, even if
it's only a slight need,'' Hill said.

Two of the suspended officers worked at police headquarters on Tremont
Street and two others in the Mattapan and Dorchester districts. A
fifth officer was suspended last night, but Hill declined to say where
the officer was assigned.

The department would not name the officers, but said all were male.
The officers ranged in age from their 20s to 50s and tested positive
in hair analysis for a range of drugs: heroin, cocaine, and marijuana.
According to department policy, testing takes place on or near an
officer's birthday. Those who test positive for drugs lose their
service weapons and badges for 45 days and are required to attend drug
rehabilitation classes for three months.

After rehabilitation is completed, the officers can be reassigned to
their former positions, but they must undergo ''intensive random
testing,'' Hill said. Across the nation, police and fire officials
have raised questions about the possibility of false positives in drug
testing.

Hill said she believed three officers voluntarily paid for a second
analysis, which is allowed under department policy, while a fourth
officer accepted his suspension.

''I am quite surprised by the news,'' said police association
president Thomas J. Nee. ''Right now we haven't been able to confirm
the reports so it's best not to comment.'' Boston Police Commissioner
Paul F. Evans has made drug testing a priority, vowing swift
punishment and treatment of officers caught using drugs. ''Like any
large corporation, we have problems,'' Hill said. ''But it's the way
you handle the problem that makes the difference.''