POLICE RALLY PROTESTS 'BITTER WORDS'

City Marchers Object To Push By Mayor, Chief For Officers' Drug Tests

Carrying signs and shouting "One-term Afflerbach!" about 200 police
officers and their supporters marched on Allentown City Hall on Thursday,
denouncing recent criticisms of the city police force by Mayor Roy
Afflerbach and Police Chief Stephen L. Kuhn.

In snow, sleet and freezing rain, police from as far away as Pittsburgh,
Erie, Lancaster and Scranton trekked to Allentown for the march.

"I'm with you guys," said Burt Freitas of Allentown, as the marchers passed
by. "One-term Afflerbach!" he yelled. He turned and said, "I don't like
what he's doing to these guys."

Other demonstrators carried signs that read "Apologize Now Mayor" and
"Apologize Chief."

Afflerbach, in a statement issued after the march, defended his handling of
the police.

While other cities are either not hiring or cutting jobs, Allentown is
expanding its department from 219 to 242, he said. Afflerbach said he and
Kuhn "believe that the vast majority" of city police are "honest,
hardworking public servants."

The city and the Fraternal Order of Police are sparring over the city's
demand to change the department's drug testing policy. Afflerbach later
said he stands firm on his demand for a tougher policy, which he said was
at the "root of the protest."

The protest outside City Hall didn't last long. Protesters chanted
anti-Afflerbach slogans and quickly moved the demonstration inside to a
nearby nightclub, Crocodile Rock, where speeches were given, including one
from Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin. Letters of support
from state Sen. Charlie Dent and U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey also were read.

Martin said he was there not to protest "anyone or any policy" but to state
that "I have full and complete confidence in the integrity, honesty and
dedication of service of the rank-and-file of the Allentown Police Department."

Rally organizer Kevin Smith, a city detective and president of the FOP,
Queen City Lodge 10, questioned whether increased taxes and higher spending
in the department is paying off.

"And what have gotten?" Smith asked. ". A police department in shambles, a
police department where morale is at an all-time low, where police officers
get suspended for not wearing a coat, and veteran, proven police officers
are so disillusioned and disgusted they are choosing to retire, depriving
us all of their experience and expertise."

Kuhn's secretary said the chief was unavailable and would be out of the
office for a few days.

Michael Lutz, president of the state FOP, said the "hostile atmosphere" in
the department is affecting the officers' ability to do their job.

"How can anyone expect our police to go out and properly perform their
duties as police officers when they do not have the backing of their own
mayor and police chief?"

Lutz said city police cannot do their job in an environment where "the
administration is lying in wait and scrutinizing a police officer's every
action in an effort to find some infraction, just to make a point."

Paul McCommons, the state FOP vice president, said city police are being
tarnished with "false gossip and accusations."

"Mr. Mayor, be careful of the bitter words you speak for you may have to
eat them someday," said McCommons, a retired state trooper.

Afflerbach's statement said, "The vast majority of Allentown officers and
citizens support our position ."

"They understand that the FOP position creates a potentially dangerous
situation for them every time they have to depend upon an officer who has
demonstrated a weakness to use illegal drugs."

Smith has repeatedly said that if Afflerbach believes someone in the
department is on drugs, he should produce the proof or stop accusing.

The mayor said drug testing is a safeguard, not an accusation. "When the
FOP union leadership in this city and this commonwealth decides to stop
supporting these law-breaking officers and joins in our efforts to
implement a zero-tolerance drug policy in the police force, I will commend
them.

"Until that time, I will continue to expose exactly what they are doing,"
he said.

Kuhn and Afflerbach are pressing for a new drug-testing policy that would
mean dismissal for anyone who tests positive for drugs.

Under the current system, any officer who tests positive is suspended
without pay for 30 days, must undergo drug counseling and is subject to 12
random drug tests during the following year.

If the officer tests positive again, the result is immediate dismissal.

Earlier this year, Afflerbach claimed the FOP was trying to protect "bad
cops" through the filing of a lawsuit that challenged management positions
created by Kuhn.

Afflerbach later expanded his definition of "bad cops" to mean "corrupt"
officers, which further enraged the FOP.