cannabisnews.com: Plusquellic Reinforces Drug Policy





Plusquellic Reinforces Drug Policy
Posted by FoM on August 28, 1999 at 07:05:02 PT
Mayor's memo puts safety workers on notice
Source: Akron Beacon Journal
Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic put the city's safety forces on notice yesterday: The city still has a ``zero tolerance'' policy on illegal drug use.
The mayor's memo to all police officers and firefighters came two days after the Akron Civil Service Commission reinstated a police officer who was fired after admitting to smoking marijuana.Plusquellic said the city would continue to seek the dismissal of any officer who uses illegal drugs. However, the city has agreed not to appeal Officer Ken Clark's reinstatement, said Law Director Max Rothal.Clark was fired after he was chosen for a routine drug screening in March. Before the results were back, he admitted to city officials that he had been smoking marijuana the day before the test.Rothal said yesterday that the city probably wouldn't win if it appealed Clark's reinstatement because the city's contract with the Fraternal Order of Police says officers who use illegal drugs ``may be subject to dismissal.''Rothal said the city would seek to strengthen that language when the contract comes up for renewal at the end of 2000.Paul Hylnsky, president of FOP Local 7, said the city would have to negotiate that with the union and, until it does, the mayor's letter to FOP members is meaningless.``I don't condone any use of illegal drugs. But no matter what the mayor says, they have to go by the contract, and the contract says it's not a zero tolerance policy. Case closed,'' Hylnsky said.The union president criticized city officials for their comments about the Clark case. ``They're giving the impression that the sky is falling at the Police Department, which is totally untrue,'' he said.The two members of the Civil Service Commission who voted to reinstate Clark -- and who were labeled ``brain dead'' by an upset city official -- said their decision should not be construed as assuring a second chance for police officers who use drugs. Virginia Robinson, who wrote the majority opinion, said the decision meant what it said: ``Given the facts presented in this case, discharge for an isolated use of marijuana under the facts and circumstances presented in this case is excessive.''``I've said all I want to say as it relates to the decision,'' Robinson said yesterday. ``I tailored it very narrowly because I realize it's a sensitive subject.''James Frost, who voted with Robinson in the 2-1 decision, said Clark was reinstated because he had an unblemished 18-year record.``We always take each case one at a time,'' Frost said. ``We've had four cases like this, and each one has been decided differently.''Commission Chairman Sidney Foster Jr. dissented, saying the city's long-standing policy of zero tolerance should have been upheld.BY GREGORY KORTE Beacon Journal staff writer  Pubdate: August 28, 1999Akron Beacon JournalOfficer is Returned to Force - 8/26/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2629.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on August 29, 1999 at 23:05:11 PT:
Drugs To Be Topic in Contract Talks 
The Associated Press08/29/99 11:09 PM EasternCleveland Livehttp://www.cleveland.com/AKRON, Ohio During the next contract talks with police, the city will try to strengthen language about firing police officers who use drugs, the law director said. The city's contract with the Fraternal Order of Police is up for renewal at the end of 2000, Law Director Max Rothal said. The comments follow the reinstatement last week of officer Ken Clark, who was fired in March after admitting that he smoked marijuana the day before taking a routine drug test. The city would likely lose an appeal because the contract states that officers who use illegal drugs "may be subject to dismissal," Rothal said. Mayor Don Plusquellic sent a memo to police officers and firefighters on Friday that said the city would continue to seek the dismissal of any officer who uses illegal drugs. Paul Hylnsky, president of Fraternal Order of Police Local 7, said the memo is meaningless until the next contract negotiations. "I don't condone any use of illegal drugs," Hylnsky said. "But no matter what the mayor says, they have to go by the contract." The two members of the Civil Service Commission who voted to reinstate Clark said firing was excessive because the officer had an unblemished 18-year record. Commission Chairman Sidney Foster Jr. opposed them, saying the zero tolerance policy should have been upheld. © The Associated Press, 1999 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 28, 1999 at 10:12:58 PT:
Related Article
Mayor Won't Tolerate Drug Use by Officers The Associated Press08/28/99 12:04 PM EasternCleveland Livehttp://www.cleveland.com/AKRON, OhioTwo days after the city's Civil Service Commission reinstated a police officer fired for smoking marijuana, Mayor Don Plusquellic issued a warning: the city still has a "zero tolerance" policy on illegal drug use. Plusquellic sent a memo to police officers and firefighters Friday that said the city would continue to seek the dismissal of any officer who uses illegal drugs. The memo was in response to Wednesday's reinstatement of Officer Ken Clark, who was fired in March after he admitted to city officials that he smoked marijuana the day before he was scheduled to take a routine drug test. Max Rothal, Akron's law director, said the city has agreed not to appeal Clark's reinstatement, but would try to strengthen dismissal language in the city's contract with the Fraternal Order of Police when it comes up for renewal at the end of 2000. The city likely would not win the appeal because the contract states officers who use illegal drugs "may be subject to dismissal," Rothal said. Paul Hylnsky, president of Fraternal Order of Police Local 7, said the mayor's memo is meaningless to FOP members until the city negotiates its next contract with the union. "I don't condone any use of illegal drugs. But no matter what the mayor says, they have to go by the contract," Hylnsky said. The two members of the Civil Service Commission who voted to reinstate Clark said their decision should not be interpreted as assuring a second chance for police officers who use drugs. "Discharge for an isolated use of marijuana under the facts and circumstances presented in this case is excessive," said commission member Virginia Robinson. James Frost, who voted with Robinson in the 2-1 decision, said Clark was reinstated because he had an unblemished 18-year record before he admitted to smoking marijuana. Commission Chairman Sidney Foster Jr. dissented, saying the city's long-standing policy of zero tolerance should have been upheld. © The Associated Press, 1999 
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