Peekskill Police to Face Random Drug Testing
Members of the Peekskill Police Department will be subjected to random drug testing next year.
Upon the recommendation of Acting City Manager Brian Havranek, the Common Council will be authorizing a contract with Clarity Testing to begin drug testing the more than 70 police personnel in January.
Havranek told the council during a work session last week there is a provision in the current PBA contract for random drug testing, but such testing has not taken place “for years.”
“It hasn’t been exercised in years. I would like to reinstate that program,” Havranek said. “It’s in the contract and it’s up to the city if we want to do it.”
Police Chief Eugene Tumolo explained some “glitches” in the contract prevented the drug testing of his department, which handles about 30,000 calls for service annually.
“I have been trying to get this in place for a number of years. We have tried, but we were never able to reach an accord to get the testing done. It wasn’t clearly stated the way it was laid out,” Tumolo said. “Had I had any input in the contract it wouldn’t have been as ambiguous or difficult to implement as it was.”
Tumolo noted the testing would be for illicit drugs, such as marijuana and amphetamines, not prescription medication. He is also hopeful of being able to test for steroid use.
“The drug testing panel is very comprehensive. Whatever needs to be done so their abilities are not impaired when they are on duty,” he said. “It’s vital and definitely needs to be done as quickly as we can.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
