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YAKIMA -- A judge has denied an appeal by the Yakima police union that argued police Chief Sam Granato fired an officer in retaliation for the union's opposition to random drug testing.
The ruling Friday by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Wickham upheld an earlier decision by the Public Employment Relations Board, which found no evidence that Granato fired Officer Mike Rummel in retaliation.
The ruling was just the latest legal twist involving Rummel, who was fired in 2005 for failing to comply with a disciplinary agreement that followed a series of alcohol-related incidents and contact with a former girlfriend.
The Yakima Police
Patrolman's Association sued to reinstate Rummel and filed a separate complaint against Granato, accusing the chief of retaliating for the union's opposition to random drug testing.
A hearings examiner initially found validity in the union's retaliation complaint. However, the city appealed to the full PERC commission, which reversed the examiner's ruling.
For years the union has been fighting Granato's quest for random drug testing, arguing such testing violates an officer's civil rights and lacks proper safeguards.
A neutral arbitrator in December nixed the proposal on the grounds that no other big-city police force in Washington allowed it. The arbitrator also said the city failed to prove that a drug problem existed in the Yakima police force or that mandatory testing would deter drug use.
The issue has since become something of a political football, with city officials vowing to press their fight after proposed legislation allowing communities to impose random drug testing by a simple majority vote failed to gain traction in Olympia earlier this year.
Friday's retaliation ruling does not affect the separate squabble over Rummel's reinstatement, which remains unresolved after a state arbitrator overturned the officer's dismissal.
The city appealed the reinstatement decision, resulting in a hearing before Klickitat County Superior Court Judge E. Thompson Reynolds. Yakima County judges bowed out of the case to avoid conflicts of interest.
The union, meanwhile, countersued to enforce the decision and to obtain back pay for Rummel.
A decision by Reynolds is expected by June.
* Chris Bristol can be reached at 577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com.
