LAPD Officer Must Take Drug Test, Judge Rules

A veteran Los Angeles police officer must submit to a random drug test when his turn comes or face disciplinary charges, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

Officer Thomas Dawson had sought a preliminary injunction to prevent the 9-month-old mandatory drug testing policy from being applied to him while he seeks to have it overturned as an invasion of his privacy. Dawson, 50, joined the department in 1972. The Police Protective League agreed to the testing program last year in exchange for additional vacation days for members with at least 21 years of service.

Arguing that the drug-testing program is unnecessary, Diane Marchant, Dawson’s lawyer, said a “paltry” number of officers have been dismissed for drug use over the past five years. Out of a force of 8,224 officers, 26 officers have been caught using drugs, according to Assistant City Atty. Timothy Hogan.