LOCAL : LAPD OKs Random Drug Testing

Rank-and-file members of the Los Angeles Police Department--the nation’s third-largest police force--have agreed to undergo random drug testing beginning next year, Mayor Tom Bradley announced today.

The agreement, hammered out between the officers’ union, department management and the mayor’s office, represents the first time a major city police force has voluntarily agreed to submit to drug testing.

“The integrity of the entire police department depends on everyone, from a rookie officer to a 30-year veteran,” Bradley said at a City Hall news conference. “Mandatory random drug testing is a reliable way to make sure that public trust and security will be maintained at all times.”

Bradley had long sought such a program, but it was possible only after the leadership of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing about 7,400 of the department’s 8,400 officers, agreed.