Beckman
LaPorte County Prosecutor Robert Beckman’s re-election committee has issued a press release responding to opponent Robert Szilagyi’s recent comments regarding Beckman’s stance on drug testing:
“The opponent of Prosecutor Robert Beckman has, through his press releases, signaled an intention to base his campaign on half truths.
“At the emichigancity.com website, a search for “drug testing” under the Municipal Code heading discloses the drug testing ordinance was written in 1993 by Prosecutor Beckman during his tenure as city attorney. The random testing portion of the ordinance which covered all heavy-equipment operators and truck drivers was authored by Beckman in July 1996. The actual discussion attributed to Beckman by his opponent, dealt with the issue of unfunded federal mandates being used to force the random testing of employees. It was Beckman’s feeling that such testing could cause the city to be sued and he objected to the use of the denial of federal tax dollars to the city, to force compliance. There was never any question the city would comply with those mandates to randomly test employees, and in fact the city immediately did so.
“Further, Szilagyi’s reckless implication that the LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office is the only office exempted from the county’s random drug testing program reflects his miscomprehension of local government operation as well as a prosecutor’s ethical obligations. Like the prosecutor’s office, according to the LaPorte County Human Resources Department, the Circuit Court and all Superior Courts have chosen to exempt their staff from the county’s random drug testing program.
“An employee of each of those departments or any other county department may, however, be required to submit to drug testing based upon reasonable suspicion and probable cause. It is Beckman’s belief that his employees should be afforded the same constitutional rights which he has sworn to uphold for not only criminal defendants, but all Hoosier citizens.
“Beckman’s opponent further suggests the prosecutor’s office has failed to support law enforcement and their drug enforcement efforts during the past 11 years. In reality, Beckman’s office created the county-wide Metro Operation units for drug enforcement following Beckman’s election in 1999. The prosecutor’s office funded the units, including offices, equipment, buy money and other numerous expenses and drafted the multiple police inter-agency cooperation agreements.
“By securing yearly grants, each unit was overseen by a board of directors which worked in conjunction with the prosecutor’s office to make over 3,600 county-wide drug arrests from 1999 until 2006, at which time the then highly trained units reverted to individual law enforcement departmental control. Over $600,000 in controlled substances were seized in 2006 alone.
“Regardless of Prosecutor Beckman’s personal beliefs created from decades of criminal trials and prosecutions, the LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office has and continues to enforce all criminal laws of the State of Indiana.
– The Committee to Re-Elect Prosecuting Attorney Robert J. Beckman
