MANCHESTER, NH – Have you always wanted to be a police officer but believed that joint you smoked in college or that “Mom” tattoo on your arm precluded you from joining Manchester’s finest? Think again.
Youthful experimentation doesn’t necessarily mean you can never be a police officer.
On the other hand, Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said if you say you smoked marijuana three times more than a year ago and, in taking a polygraph, you admit to smoking pot 300 times – as was the case with one applicant – then you are not going to get a job offer.
There are some automatic disqualifications to being hired as a police officer by the city of Manchester. For instance, drug dealers (as well as manufacturers and transporters) need not apply.
The topic of marijuana use and being a police officer came up Wednesday during a meeting of the Manchester Police Commission at police headquarters on Valley Street.
Police commissioner Charlie Sherman questioned why it would be OK for someone who frequents bars to become a police officer but someone who smokes a joint occasionally is disqualified, especially when many states are loosening laws surrounding marijuana.
“I know it seems it, but I don’t smoke marijuana,” said Sherman, evoking laughter from those attending the session.
The short answer, according to Assistant Chief Steve Mangone, is that one is legal and the other isn’t.
In Manchester someone is automatically disqualified from being hired as a police officer if he or she illegally used marijuana within 12 months of the police exam.
“There are no saints walking these halls,” said Capt. Peter Marr.
Aldenberg said when someone says his lifelong dream is to be a police officer and six months before he takes the exam he smokes marijuana then it is a question of the individual’s “judgment.”
He said applicants are also questioned about their alcohol use.
“Appropriate” tattoos are allowed, as a form of self-expression although they cannot be on the face, neck, or hands. The police chief has the final say on whether the skin art is OK.
The department is presently looking to fill 17 vacancies. Its full complement is 257.
In the past, Aldenberg said there would be 250 to 300 applicants. The last time the entry-level exam was held, 50 people took it. About 10 of those didn’t pass the written exam.
If an applicant passes the written exam, then it is on to the physical agility test which includes push-ups, sit-ups and running 1/12 miles within a specified amount of time based on age.
Aldenberg said after the physical exam, another 30 people were dropped.
By the time the remaining candidates underwent background checks, a polygraph and medical exam, only five of the original 50 were hired.
“We are not changing our standards to fill the vacancies,” the chief said. “If we get one, we get one.
Applicants also have to be 21 years of age, be a U.S. citizen, have a valid driver’s license and pay a $25 non-refundable application fee.
The entry-level police exam is taking place on March 27, 2021, at 9 a.m. at Manchester West High School, 9 Notre Dame Ave. Starting pay for entry-level officers is $54,475.
