Proposed Drug-Testing Plan Raises Concern

Police chiefs in Orange County are girding for some resistance to a plan that asks each of the county’s law enforcement agencies, including the Sheriff’s Department, to establish drug-testing programs for their departments by the end of next year.

Robert MacLeod, general manager of the Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s Assn., said members are already questioning motivations for the policy and whether safeguards will be included to protect against possible abuses.

“We have received some phone calls,” said MacLeod, referring to members of the county’s largest law enforcement union. “They’re expressing concerns. . . . What kind of checks and balances will there be? What kind of substances will they check for? Will it be merely illegal drugs or prescription drugs, too? I’ve had three people call today asking about codeine--a couple of guys said they take it for bronchitis and were concerned about it.”

Laguna Beach Police Chief Neil J. Purcell, president of the Orange County Chiefs of Police and Sheriff’s Assn. which announced the proposal Wednesday, said the association has built in enough time to allow individual departments to deal with concerns raised by police unions and employee groups.

“We do not want to have a policy to nail people,” Purcell said. “These are our employees we are talking about, not criminals. We’ve allowed some time because we want to work with the police unions. Hopefully, we will be able to work out the bugs.”

Under the plan approved by the police chiefs and Sheriff Brad Gates, Purcell said individual departments will have the freedom to deal with the kinds and numbers of drugs to be screened and the disciplinary procedures to be followed. The plans are expected to be formulated by Dec. 31, 1991.

Purcell said his association merely presented a model plan and some guidelines to help individual departments along. That model includes testing provisions for the presence of morphine, codeine, cocaine, amphetamines and marijuana. He said those substances represented the most commonly abused drugs.

The model does not include testing for steroids or alcohol, but Purcell said those substances and others could be included in a plan tailored for an individual department.

Aside from the questions raised by officers, MacLeod said his police association has not taken a formal position on the proposal. However, he said it would be good to ensure that a certified laboratory in drug testing procedures be retained to provide a safeguard against false positive readings.

Anaheim Police Chief Joseph T. Molloy said he expects police unions to question the integrity of any system implemented in police agencies in the county.

“Drug testing is not the issue here,” Molloy said. “It is how we’re going to make this a reliable process. What kind of a process are we going to build in for their protection? Some labor groups may have a problem with it.”

Molloy said he had informed his department of 340 sworn officers about the issue well before the police chiefs made their announcement Wednesday.

“This wasn’t something that was a covert action,” he said. “All of this may be ambitious. Our guys have not reacted to it.”

Times staff writer Tony Marcano contributed to this report.