Drugs found in home of Metro officer trainer

Keith Paul

Friday, Jan. 18, 2002 | 10:55 a.m.

A Metro Police officer who trains recruits at the department's academy was relieved of duty and faces possible criminal charges after drugs were found in his Henderson home last week.

Police officials confirmed there are ongoing internal and criminal investigations into potential drug use by the officer.

"We discovered the alleged drug use due to another officer believing there was reasonable suspicion and taking those suspicions to his supervisor," Undersheriff Richard Winget said.

Detectives are working with prosecutors to determine if the officer will face any criminal charges, Winget said.

Internal affairs is also conducting an investigation of the department's academy staff to determine if anyone knew about the officer's suspected drug use earlier but did not report it. Winget said officers have a duty to report illegal activity of other officers.

Narcotics detectives searched the officer's house last Wednesday and found heroin, cocaine, steroids and Ketamine -- an animal sedative dubbed a club drug in recent years, a Metro Police source said on the condition of anonymity.

Police would not release the name of the officer, who was suspended with pay. He was apparently "unable to care for himself" when found in his house and taken to University Medical Center. He was released from UMC about 90 minutes later. The officer apparently is in a private hospital in Las Vegas receiving treatment.

Winget said 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 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, Winget said.

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 Winget said allowing random drug tests will be discussed.

Officer David Kallas, the PPA executive director, said officers "would be hard pressed to justify not taking a random drug test when other businesses require pre-employment drug tests or random tests."

Metro spokesman Lt. Vincent Cannito said officers arrest people for violating drug laws and should be held accountable if they themselves break the law.

"The simple fact is that drugs impair your ability to function," he said. "Officers have a great deal of authority and if their judgement is impaired by drugs, then their decisions will be equally impaired."

Under the random drug testing policy, officers caught with illegal drug in their system will be required to participate in a rehabilitation program and will be subject to scheduled drug testing for a year.

An officer caught under the random testing will not be fired on the first offence -- the penalty for narcotic and controlled substance use under the department's discipline guidelines.

However Winget said an officer can be ordered to give a drug test if there is evidence that he or she is using drugs. An officer still faces punishment if the drug use is discovered by information other than random tests.

A police officer caught using drugs doesn't surprise Dr. Glen Hanson, acting director of the the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

"Physicians become addicted. So do movie stars, politicians, housewives and children," Hanson said. "Anyone can become addicted to drugs."

Addicts, especially those using narcotics, are able to hide their addictions and continue to function at their jobs, he said.

The officer apparently told other Metro officers that he had a staff infection, which caused him to lose weight. Sources said he also wore a sweatshirt under his uniform to mask the drop in weight.

But Winget said the officer was still functioning as an able instructor at the academy and there will be no need to retrain the recruits who were taught by him.

Jon Morgenstern, director of treatment research at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York, said drug users hide their addiction from themselves as well as others.

"They say they can stop at anytime or say they have jobs, so they couldn't be addicts," he said. "By the time people recognize they have a problem, they have already sone so much damage to their lives."

Morgenstern said society is likely more disturbed by addictions by those in positions of authority.

"I think when people who are in safety positions like police or firefighters or people like physicians are impaired on the job, it does make a difference on society," he said. "The issue of a police officer doing something illegal is also a greater concern."

Morgenstern said drug and alcohol addictions are treatable and curable.

"People need to get help. We have to hold people accountable, but we really need to help them," he said. "If the officer is having a drug problem, hopefully he will get the help he needs."