POLICE DRUG TESTING LANDS IN LEGISLATURE

Still bristling over an arbitrator's ruling that didn't go their
way, Yakima officials are seeking legislation that would give voters
across the state the option of requiring random drug testing of
police officers in their communities.

Rep. Charles Ross, R-Naches, said late Monday that he's agreed to
take the city's draft proposal and use it as the basis for a bill.

On Monday, Mayor Dave Edler unveiled a proposal that -- if approved
by the 2008 Legislature -- would allow voters to pass local laws
imposing random drug testing on police officers and sheriff's
deputies with a simple majority vote.

Supporters say it makes sense to have law enforcement undergo random
drug testing, but the police union is girding for a fight. And Jim
Cline, the attorney for Yakima's police union, predicted the
legislation would go nowhere fast in Olympia.

Yakima's effort is a direct response to an arbitrator's ruling last
month that stopped Police Chief Sam Granato from randomly drug
testing on the city's 133 sworn officers, an effort that stymied
contract negotiations between the city and the police union for months.

In his December ruling, independent arbitrator Mike Beck nixed
random drug testing in Yakima because no other big-city police force
in Washington allowed it. He said the city failed to prove that a
drug problem existed on the Yakima police force or that
mandatory testing would deter drug use.

"From our perspective, this is Plan B," Edler said, adding that he
and other local officials plan to travel to Olympia later this month
to lobby lawmakers in person.

Given the officers' authority and right to use deadly force, "their
judgment absolutely needs to be unimpaired," Edler said.

Ross said he's asked legislative staff draw up a bill based on the
proposal by Yakima city attorneys. He and Sen. Curtis King,
R-Yakima, have agreed to discuss the matter today.

"I'm interested, and I think Curtis is interested in helping the
city move this issue forward ... ," Ross said. "I think citizens
assume that law enforcement officers are already routinely drug-tested."

Granato said he'll bring the city's drug-testing proposal to a
Wednesday meeting of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and
Police Chiefs, the statewide lobbying organization for the state's
top law enforcement officials.

"I am going to ask them to support the legislation, but I don't know
where it is going to land," said Granato, a board member of the association.

Giving communities the option of adopting random drug testing by
public vote rather than making it mandatory is the right approach,
he said. "It's my belief taxpayers should have the ultimate say-so.
After all, they pay for it."

Cline, representing Yakima's police union, called the city's
legislative proposal a "nonissue" and said he doubted it would gain
much traction on the west side.

"Usually that's the kind of bill that gets filed by a legislator,
only to die on the vine," he said. "I'm not seeing any signs that
this legislation is viable."

Union officials have argued that random drug testing violates an
officer's right against unreasonable search and seizure and lacks
proper safeguards.

Cline said the Yakima proposal bypasses the collective bargaining
rights of unions and warned it would allow elected officials and
candidates to score political points.

He predicted the lobbying organization for rank and file officers --
the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs -- will "come out
strongly against it."

In Yakima, the arbitrator's ruling left in place the current
"reasonable suspicion" policy that union officials say more quickly
identifies violators. Granato had proposed to randomly test 25
percent of the force each year.

City officials say 172 other city employees already submit to random
drug testing, including Granato and other police commanders, top
supervisors in the fire department and 9-1-1 dispatchers.

Granato conceded drug-testing legislation might fail this year, but
he's confident that over time it will gain support with lawmakers
and the public.

"I keep telling people -- and Mr. Cline needs to take note -- the
genie's out of the bottle. It's not going back in," he said.

* Staff reporter Chris Bristol reported from Yakima. Correspondent
Jennifer Henrichsen reported from Olympia.