Police Officer Who Refused Drug Test Wins Back His Job

A fired Los Angeles police officer has been ordered back to duty by an arbitrator who ruled that the Police Department overstepped its bounds in ordering the officer to take a urine drug test that he refused to submit to, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Attorney Michael Stone said reinstatement for Johnny Jackson, 28, was ordered last month by arbitrator Martin Zimring, who ruled that the city had erred in firing Jackson because there was no “substantial evidence” that he had ingested any drugs before he was ordered to take the test.

The Police Department, which maintained there had been sufficient evidence, has since removed disciplinary matters from among issues that may be appealed to an arbitrator, said police spokesman Cmdr. William Booth.

Jackson refused to submit to a police-ordered drug test on Feb. 20, 1986, after a fellow Southwest Division officer, with whom he had been seen, was arrested and subsequently fired for alleged involvement with drugs, Stone said.

Took Test Later

Although Jackson refused to take a police-administered drug test on the morning he was taken into custody, he took a urine test later in the day at California Hospital. That test, Stone said, proved negative on drug use.

Nevertheless, Jackson was fired in August of last year for insubordination for his refusal to take the initial test. He later appealed to Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and the Police Commission, but they ruled against him.

Jackson insisted, however, that the police order to take a drug test was in violation of Article 37 of the memorandum of understanding between the city and the officers’ bargaining agent, the Police Protective League. Under the article, an officer may be compelled to submit to drug testing only if the department has substantial evidence that an officer has ingested an illicit drug, according to league director David Baca.

Jackson then went to arbitration and, at the same time, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court to seek damages beyond the wages lost because of his dismissal. That suit is scheduled for trial next year.

Jackson, who could not be reached for comment, is scheduled to return to duty Tuesday.

According to Baca, Article 37 was included in the contract with the city because “in the past, officers have been forced to submit to drug tests without justification.”

“This is the first arbitration (on the drug-testing issue) we’ve had that I recall,” Baca said. “I would hope the department would now realize that this is the standard they must meet.”

Department View

The department, however, maintains that it met the substantial evidence standard, Booth said.

Arbitration on such disciplinary matters has since been eliminated, he added, “because it is so inherently foolish to put the department’s ability to discipline and manage in the hands of some arbitrator with no accountability for running the department.”