Plainsman1963

Officer reinstated after he tells boy to discard drugs
08-25-2008 | KTAR.Com

The Tucson Civil Service Commission has reinstated a police officer fired after police say he told a boy to flush suspected marijuana down a toilet or face arrest, his attorney said.

Douglas Dreher was fired March 31.

The commission listened to his appeal Aug. 12 and closing arguments were heard Thursday, attorney Michael Storie said.

After hearing the case, the commission ordered Dreher reinstated with back pay except for 100 hours, which is to serve as an unpaid suspension for failure to seize the bag and its contents as evidence, Storie said.

Storie said the firing hinged on a police department contention that Dreher knew the contents inside the plastic bag was marijuana and that Dreher failed to tell the truth during an internal investigation.

According to a Tucson police document, Dreher found a plastic bag of marijuana in the boy's pocket, took it out and offered the boy the option of flushing the contents down the toilet or face going to jail. The boy chose to flush the bag's contents.

A second officer reported the incident to his sergeant and maintained the substance in the bag was marijuana.

The boy and his sister also said the bag contained marijuana, documents said.