The Benton Civil Service Commission will hold a public hearing to gather opinion about the use of prescription pills by police officers employed by the City of Benton. The meeting is set for Thursday, January 3rd, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers at the Benton Municipal Complex, 114 S East St, Benton, AR 72015.
According to Benton Police Chief Scotty Hodges, the change would affect criteria for removal from Police Officer Selection Process.
It was earlier reported here that the rule change is about marijuana – that is incorrect. The rule change is to keep police officer candidates from being automatically eliminated based on prescription pill use for medicinal purposes. The new rule would give authority to the Chief of Police to decide whether pill use will eliminate a candidate for police officer.
The proposed change applies to the text in parentheses only:
8. Any non-prescribed use of any narcotic or hallucinogenic drug such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD or any other drug listed in Arkansas Criminal Code 5-64-203 thru 5-64-215, with the exception of marijuana which is addressed below. (Candidates who took a limited amount of non-prescribed medication for a medical reason will be pass/fail as determined by the Chief of Police.)
