Deputy hired even though he grew pot

ORLANDO (AP) The Orange County Sheriff's Office hired a deputy
last year who admitted he recently had grown marijuana at home.

Although drug experience does not necessarily disqualify a law
enforcement candidate these days, Jeffery Mann probably is not a
typical hire.

His pot farming occurred in mid1995 at the same time he was seeking a
state pardon in a 10yearold fraud and conspiracy case so he could
apply to be a deputy, sheriff's records show, according to a story
published Sunday by The Orlando Sentinel.

Sheriff Kevin Beary, Undersheriff Rick Staly and personnel director
Dan Ford would not comment on why they hired Mann in December over
hundreds of other applicants.

Staly had recommended Mann for the job, his application shows. Ford
told the undersheriff about the findings of Mann's background check on
Nov. 7, 1996, and Staly ordered the hire, a note on the report
indicates.

All questions were referred to sheriff's spokesman Cmdr. Steve Jones,
who said growing marijuana did not violate the 12month drugfree
period the agency requires of applicants.

``He wasn't using it,'' Jones said. ``The policy talks about drug
usage, and it doesn't address this case here about possession. It's
something we will have to address.''

Mann, 36, told sheriff's background investigators that he had not used
marijuana in four years and denied selling it.

Administrators with several other Central Florida law enforcement
agencies said growing marijuana falls under their definition of using
it. They said Mann's admission would have disqualified him for
employment.

``Absolutely,'' said Sally Bronson, head of personnel at the Osceola
County Sheriff's Office. ``If they're growing it they're most likely
going to be selling it.''

Still, hiring former drug abusers is an increasingly common practice
in law enforcement. Other Central Florida agencies may have tougher
standards than the Orange County Sheriff's Office, but officials admit
that a strict drugfree policy might shrink today's applicant pool to
a puddle.

A sheriff's background investigation that details Mann's past use of
marijuana was not released when The Orlando Sentinel asked to examine
Mann's personnel file in January. The newspaper discovered it recently
while researching a brutality complaint.

As part of the investigation, Mann admitted during a June 1996
liedetector test that he had smoked marijuana about four times, but
not since 1992.

Calendar references in the report suggest that Mann was cultivating
marijuana, a felony, while Gov. Lawton Chiles and the state Cabinet
were considering his application for a state pardon. It was the
pardon, not the drug question, that attracted attention after the
sheriff's office hired Mann.

The court file on Mann's 1985 felony arrest is sealed. He declined to
be interviewed.

Copyright (c) 1997 The Miami Herald