Training officer facing firing

Keith Paul

Thursday, April 4, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

Supervisors of a Metro Police academy training officer arrested in February on drug-related charges recommended he be fired, department officials told the Sun Wednesday.

Officer Sean P. Curd faces the punishment after an internal investigation sustained a department charge of use of narcotics or controlled substances. Curd still faces criminal charges on eight counts of drug possession and one count of being under the influence of drugs, said Lt. Vincent Cannito, a department spokesman.

Curd faces a pre-termination board, which will then make its recommendation to Sheriff Jerry Keller. The board can recommend Curd's firing or a lesser punishment, but Keller has the final say regarding disciplinary action.

"Drugs are something we are trying to get out of our community, so obviously we can't have our officers under the influence of a controlled substance," Cannito said.

Neither Curd, who is currently on paid administrative leave, nor his attorney could be reached for comment.

Curd tested positive for the chemical components of cocaine in his system, a police report states.

"He was tested and the results were positive, but the internal investigation findings are different from criminal findings," Cannito said. "He has not been tried on the criminal charges."

Curd has a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 16 in Henderson Justice Court.

Police searched Curd's Henderson home on Jan. 9 and found suspected cocaine, steroids and ketamine -- an animal sedative dubbed a club drug in recent years. Narcotics detectives arrested Curd Feb. 28 after tests proved the substances were drugs.

Police believe Curd hid his drug use while teaching new recruits at the academy. When other officers noticed he had lost a lot of weight, he claimed he had a staph infection. He also wore additional sweatshirts under his uniform to mask his weight loss, police said.

But other officers at the academy suspected Curd may be using drugs and told a supervisor of their suspicions.

When police went to Curd's home on Jan. 9, Curd "was observed to be under the influence of a controlled substance and in a potentially harmful condition," according to the police report. He was taken to University Medical Center, where he was briefly treated and released.

The department currently randomly drug tests officers in some specialized units such as narcotics, vice and intelligence along with the command staff.

However, Metro officials have previously started creating a new plan to conduct random drug tests for all officers. The program is expected to be in place by the end of the year.

The Police Protective Association, the union for the rank-and-file officers, agreed to the random testing during the last contract negotiation. The Police Managers and Supervisors Association will start negotiating a new contract in July and Undersheriff Richard Winget said allowing random drug tests will be discussed.