The Region : Plan for LAPD Drug Testing Advances

Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, who has already expressed support for state legislation that would require millions of California workers to undergo random mandatory drug testing, said he is “moving forward” with a mandatory testing program in his own 7,000-officer department. In a written memo distributed departmentwide, Gates said such a program has strong support among the rank and file. More than 98% of the 173 officers assigned to the Metropolitan Division, which includes the department’s SWAT team, signed a petition calling for mandatory drug testing, he said. Other units, including the Administrative Narcotics Division, already have voluntarily submitted urine samples for testing, the chief said. Gates noted that officers from Rampart Division submitted “six bottles of an amber liquid with a request for an immediate analysis.” The bottles, Gates said, were filled with apple juice.