D.C. Administrator Calls for Probe of Any Drug Use by City Workers

City Administrator Carol Thompson, in charge of government duties as Mayor Marion Barry seeks treatment for substance abuse after his arrest on cocaine charges, Friday called for an investigation into alleged drug use and distribution among city government workers.

Thompson asked Police Chief Isaac Fulwood to conduct a review of an earlier police investigation involving drug use in the city government, saying the request was “in light of renewed allegations of drug use and distribution in the District (of Columbia) government.”

The earlier police inquiry, conducted by the Internal Affairs Division in 1987, led to one arrest.

Thompson, who has been handed the reins of government by Barry, said that all findings from the investigation will be made public.

“We do not condone use, possession or distribution of drugs by our employees, and we will continue to take every appropriate step to attack any drug activities we discover,” she said.

Meanwhile, officials Friday said there has been virtually no change in the city’s functioning since Barry’s arrest on Jan. 18. The three-term mayor was arrested at a downtown Washington hotel and charged with one misdemeanor count of crack cocaine possession in a joint FBI-police sting operation.

Thompson, under the city charter, does not have the legal power to sign or veto legislation or approve contracts with the federal government.

Such documents are being sent to Barry, 53, for his signature in the Florida substance abuse center he entered Monday.