Pubdate: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 Source: Glenwood Post (CO) Copyright: 2000 Western Slope Publishing Group Contact: http://www.searchcolorado.com/glenwood/ MOST NEW DENVER POLICE HAVE DRUG OR LAW ENFORCEMENT RECORDS DENVER (AP) -- The majority of new police officers who hit the street late last year have either used drugs experimentally or have run afoul of law enforcement before becoming officers, according to application records. Of the 30 new Denver police, only six had clean records, The Denver Post reported Sunday, citing public records from the Denver Civil Service Commission. "What the heck is going on here?" said Councilman Ted Hackworth, a critic of the city's process of hiring police officers. "How are these people getting hired?" A hearing on how the Civil Service Commission plans to revamp its hiring procedures is scheduled for Wednesday. The commission is responsible for hiring police officers. The changes were called for after the controversial hiring of Ellis "Max" Johnson, who admitted on his application to sometimes using drugs -- some as potent as LSD and crack cocaine -- more than 150 times. Johnson is still in the police academy "Johnson is just opening up the door to what's really going on in that department," Hackworth said. "When there are 100 percent qualified candidates, why aren't they getting hired? Why are these people coming first?" Of the 30 officers who were hired in June, 19 of them experimented sporadically with marijuana several years before, The Post reported. 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. 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 is not automatically disqualified. One officer said he smoked pot about 25 times in a 16-month period and bought it illegally three times, according to commission records. The most recent any admitted to using drugs was in 1994. "Temptation today is greater than ever in the history of America," said Paul Torres, the commission's executive director who has been at the center of recent controversial hires. "It's a societal problem and readily available. It's very difficult not to find it (marijuana) around." In addition to past drug use, 10 of the 30 recruits had other law enforcement problems, records showed. Four of had been arrested at least once -- two for assault, one for not paying his child support and the other for driving while intoxicated, records show. Another officer -- a seven-year veteran of a suburban Denver department -- was fired, then reinstated after an internal investigation determined he had stolen department records. "If these were the people who were hired, I'd like to see those who were rejected," said Councilman Ed Thomas, a former police officer. "I think they've lowered the bar so much, it's an embarrassment." The Denver district attorney is investigating Johnson's hiring while the city council is reviewing the entire process and whether to replace one of the commission members. Mayor Wellington Webb is piecing together a new review commission to analyze whether hiring procedures for police and firefighters need drastic change. "They didn't take a guy I know of who has a sterling military record, but they'll take a guy who admitted to smoking crack cocaine..." Thomas said. "I want to have them sit in front of me and explain the benefits of a cocaine abuser protecting the streets." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk