Make drug testing mandatory for police in high-risk units, ex-defence lawyer says

The overdose death of a Toronto drug squad officer is raisingquestions about whether enough is being done to help those who do such high-risk andhigh-stress work.

Const. Michael Thompson, 37, was rushed to hospital from his home in Whitby on April 10, police say, and he died three days later. The Ontario coroner's office determined the cause of his death to be a fentanyl overdose.

"It's symptomatic of a much larger problem that we have," said Mayor John Tory, who said there were 800 deaths due to the drug in Ontario last year.

A email sent to police staff by Acting Chief Jim Ramer reminded them of wellness resources available to deal with such things as personal crises and post traumatic stress disorder.

"We don'twant what happened to Michael to happen again," Ramer writes. "What happened to Michael is tragic and we could take a moment to think about if we know someone who might be in trouble and what we can do to help."

But some want the police to do more.

Retired defence lawyer Paul Copeland, who represented some people who lodged complaints about one drug squad team in the 1990s, says such testing could help.

"One, it would determine if someone was using drugs and two, it would be a disincentive to someone to start using drugs," said Copeland. "It's an important factorin both the safety of the person doing the undercover work and the integrity of the investigations they are doing."

Copeland doubts that the Crown can proceed with any of the cases Thompson was working on. The first case was to go to trial on Monday.

A report that looked into previous problems within one unit of the drug squad by an Ontario Justice George Ferguson recommended mandatory drug testing for members of such high-risk units.

"A drug testing program, as a prerequisite for promotion or transfer to sensitive or high-risk areas (e.g. drug squads, major crime units, Emergency Task Force, Intelligence Services, Mobile Support Unit, Professional Standards, Internal Affairs, etc.) is not only appropriate, but essential in the interests of public and officer safety," Ferguson recommended in 2003.