. . . `ZERO TOLERANCE' POLICY

I want to applaud Chief Robert White and Louisville Metro government
for their appeal of Officer Michael J. Thompson's reinstatement after
testing positive for marijuana.

I am appalled at the Louisville Metro Police Merit Board's decision to
reinstate Thompson. What kind of message does it send? Officers are
above the law. It's against the law for a regular citizen to smoke
marijuana, but not a police officer.

Maybe the board would like to ban all random drug testing, too, since
there appear to be no penalties for officers caught with illegal
substances in their system.

I totally agree with Chief White that there must be a "zero tolerance"
policy on this issue. It is irrelevant that the man has a "virtually
unblemished record." Not only is he an adult who knows better, he is
an officer who is supposed to arrest people for committing the same
crime. He must be held accountable for his actions.

This board should not be able to reinstate a would-be criminal in a
position to enforce the law. We need to stand behind our government
and our police chief and be sure that crimes are punished. I hope the
judge who reviews this case will apply the law and understand it
better than the board that is supposed to oversee things.

Cathy Schneider,

Louisville