A third of newly hired Denver candidates reportedly admitted to drug use

Associated Press

DENVER — Some city officials are calling for tighter restrictions on the hiring of police recruits who have a history of drug abuse.

Last week, officials with the Civil Service Commission acknowledged that two of every three newly hired Denver police candidates admitted to some kind of drug use. Suburban departments say that number is closer to one of every five of their new hires.

"I absolutely, strongly feel that we need a department that's considered above the standard, anyone's standard," Denver Councilman Ted Hackworth said. "Right now that's not the case."

Denver police candidates cannot have used drugs for one year before applying to the department, according to commission rules that have existed for about a decade. That means any candidate who admits to using any drug more than a year ago, in any quantity for any period of time, is reviewed on a case-by-case basis but isn't automatically disqualified.

Denver Councilman Ed Thomas, a 22-year veteran of the department who retired in 1993, says that is too soon to ensure someone won't go back to previous habits.

"No kidding?" Thomas said when told of the one-year rule. "I think those kind of qualifications need to be strengthened. A longer period of time gives them more of an opportunity to be responsible, especially if they have a long history of drug abuse."

The rules that govern the selection process for Denver police applicants are under fire because of the recently publicized hiring of a 40-year-old Denver man who admitted to heavy prior drug use.

While the pattern of drug abuse wouldn't have disqualified Ellis "Max" Johnson from being considered, it would have given area police officials pause before hiring him. Denver officials had refused to hire Johnson four other times since 1994, although it's unclear whether that has any connection to his admitted drug use.

Johnson applied 32 times to 21 departments. On his Denver application, he admitted to using drugs — some as potent as LSD and crack cocaine — more than 150 times.

More disconcerting to critics, however, is that Johnson flunked police background investigations six times, including in Denver in 1996.

"It's hard to comprehend how he could have failed in 1996 and gotten another chance," Hackworth said Tuesday. Hackworth is among a group of council members who hope to change the criteria by which police recruits are chosen.

"I believe we should expect our officers to live by a higher standard than normal citizens," Hackworth said. "The criteria should also be of a higher standard, at least five years for marijuana usage and 10 years for any other heavier drug use. We're now questioning the process that even allowed Johnson to get on the list at all."

For Civil Service Commissioner Chris Olson, who also is Englewood's director of safety services and a 24-year veteran of that department, Denver's criteria for choosing officers are different than even his own department because of the vast pool of people from which they're pulling.

"Denver needs to hire a lot more people than the suburban departments, so with a larger pool, it's more likely the percentage of those who recently used drugs is higher," Olson said.