DRUG TESTS BEGIN SOON

Deputies First, Then Firefighters

Random drug testing is expected to start soon for Forsyth County
sheriff's deputies, with testing for county firefighters and
paramedics to follow. The heads of the county's three public-safety
agencies said that random drug testing is a good way for the county
to ensure public confidence. The sheriff's office is working out the
last details before starting testing, and firefighters and paramedics
may start testing by March 1. "That's overdue," said Sheriff Bill
Schatzman. "We can't have that (drugs) in law enforcement, when
you're talking about guns and taking a life and taking people's civil
liberties." Winston-Salem police have had random drug tests since the
early 1990s, but the sheriff's office has not. It relied instead on
the policy that applies to all county employees, which did not have
random testing. Both police and the sheriff's office allow a
supervisor to have an officer tested when they have reasonable
suspicion to believe that officer might be using drugs. Both agencies
test an officer or deputy before hiring. Police also require testing
when an officer is in a wreck that does a lot of damage to a car, or
a wreck with serious injuries in which the officer is at fault, said
Lt. Brad Yandell, a police spokesman.

The sheriff's office tests deputies involved in wrecks on a
case-by-case basis, said Maj. Brad Stanley.

The sheriff's office will have random tests for five types of drugs -
marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and PCP. Police do the same
test. Paramedics and firefighters will have a test for nine types of
drugs, which costs more.

Although the sheriff's office did not have figures for the cost per
test, the same test costs the city $33. The test for firefighters for
nine types of drugs is more than $40, and that does not include
testing for steroids. Steroid abuse is a problem among officers,
according to a 2004 report from the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration. Abuse can lead to short-term effects that include
delusions, mood swings, hostility and impaired judgment. City Manager
Lee Garrity said that city officials have talked about testing for
steroids, but have not added the test because of the cost. Schatzman
said he thought that the test for five drugs was adequate, as that
test is common among law-enforcement agencies.

"Certainly I've heard about (steroid use) in terms of sports," he
said, "but I've never heard about it in terms of law enforcement."
Each county agency can randomly test up to 10 percent of its
employees a month. "You could work a full career here and never get
it, or you could get it four times," Stanley said. "It just depends."
For the first year of testing, the sheriff's office has set aside
$1,000. It's money well spent, Stanley said.

"We do not feel and hope that we do not have anyone that is using and
abusing drugs," he said. "This is another way to validate that."