Sheriff John Allen said he removed Bernalillo County firefighters from the Metro Air Support Unit because they refused to meet his drug testing standards, but county records show firefighters agreed to those same standards in July and the sheriff still has not allowed them back on the unit.
Allen quietly pulled firefighters from the helicopter unit in June after a county policy change allowed off-duty cannabis use. The public did not learn about the decision until last week, when the Sheriff’s Office disclosed it in a New Year’s Eve press release that cited the drug testing issue.
According to county records reviewed by City Desk, firefighters signed a July agreement for random drug testing with a 50-nanogram cannabis threshold. The agreement called for immediate removal and permanent disqualification after any positive test, yet firefighters never returned to the unit.
Sections of an agreement between Bernalillo County and the local firefighter’s union detailing drug testing policies for BCFD members assigned to the air unit (Source: IAFF 244)
“Even after that agreement was signed, firefighters were not returned to the unit,” said Theodore Ygbuhay, vice president of the firefighters union’s county chapter. The union has filed a prohibited practices complaint that remains pending…