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Herald Tribune, Colombia TN - Spring Hill's mayor wanted the results of a drug test the town's police chief failed kept "highly confidential" and threatened to terminate any employee who "leaked" the information to the media, according to an e-mail obtained by The Daily Herald.
Earlier this month, Police Chief John Smith tested positive for codeine during a random drug screening of city employees. The chief said he took the last two pills of an 8-year-old Tylenol 3 prescription to alleviate a sore back a day before taking the random test Nov. 9.
Smith said he threw away the pill bottle and was unable to find a record of the prescription from a doctor's office or pharmacy.
On Nov. 19, Mayor Mike Dinwiddie responded to an e-mail about the incident from the city administrator with a stern warning for city employees with loose lips.
"It goes without saying that this should be kept highly confidential," Dinwiddie wrote. "Any city employee leaking this info publicly will be considered for immediate termination. IF the media does get wind of this, please forward their inquiries to me."
The e-mail was addressed to City Administrator Victor Lay and the town's aldermen. It was carbon-copied to the city attorney, the finance director and the police chief.
Dinwiddie said there has been no attempt to hide information from the public. At the same time, the mayor said he didn't think the city needed to "broadcast" something that would paint the chief and the city in a bad light.
"We don't need to go out and broadcast what happens to every employee in the city," he said. "If anybody has a question about an employee, they are certainly free to come into City Hall and look at the personnel file."
Dinwiddie said he didn't think it was in the public's interest to know about the chief's drug test because there was no evidence that the chief was addicted to drugs or did anything wrong.
"He was just trying to relieve a back ache," the mayor said. "So why do we need to drag him and his family through the mud - and the city through the mud - over something as little as that?"
Spring Hill Alderman Jonathan Duda, however, raised questions about the mayor's e-mail in an interview with a Nashville newspaper, saying that it "went against the role of a city official."
Because of the violation, the chief will be required to attend an evaluation session with a drug counselor. He must also take six more drug tests as outlined in the town's substance abuse policy.
City administrator Lay said the chief was not given any special treatment and was treated the same as any other employee would be.
Earlier this month, Police Chief John Smith tested positive for codeine during a random drug screening of city employees. The chief said he took the last two pills of an 8-year-old Tylenol 3 prescription to alleviate a sore back a day before taking the random test Nov. 9.
Smith said he threw away the pill bottle and was unable to find a record of the prescription from a doctor's office or pharmacy.
On Nov. 19, Mayor Mike Dinwiddie responded to an e-mail about the incident from the city administrator with a stern warning for city employees with loose lips.
"It goes without saying that this should be kept highly confidential," Dinwiddie wrote. "Any city employee leaking this info publicly will be considered for immediate termination. IF the media does get wind of this, please forward their inquiries to me."
The e-mail was addressed to City Administrator Victor Lay and the town's aldermen. It was carbon-copied to the city attorney, the finance director and the police chief.
Dinwiddie said there has been no attempt to hide information from the public. At the same time, the mayor said he didn't think the city needed to "broadcast" something that would paint the chief and the city in a bad light.
"We don't need to go out and broadcast what happens to every employee in the city," he said. "If anybody has a question about an employee, they are certainly free to come into City Hall and look at the personnel file."
Dinwiddie said he didn't think it was in the public's interest to know about the chief's drug test because there was no evidence that the chief was addicted to drugs or did anything wrong.
"He was just trying to relieve a back ache," the mayor said. "So why do we need to drag him and his family through the mud - and the city through the mud - over something as little as that?"
Spring Hill Alderman Jonathan Duda, however, raised questions about the mayor's e-mail in an interview with a Nashville newspaper, saying that it "went against the role of a city official."
Because of the violation, the chief will be required to attend an evaluation session with a drug counselor. He must also take six more drug tests as outlined in the town's substance abuse policy.
City administrator Lay said the chief was not given any special treatment and was treated the same as any other employee would be.
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