im sure sheriff job arpaio also favors flushing the enitire bill of rights down the toilet. after thats what the bill of rights is for to protect us from the government and especially from government police Original Article Sheriff favors random drug testing Idea follows news of drug ring targeting Scottsdale students Thomas Ropp The Arizona Republic Mar. 20, 2005 12:00 AM Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Saturday that he believes all high school and middle school students should be randomly tested for drug use, this following the infiltration of a Mexican heroin ring that targeted mostly Scottsdale high school students. "I'm surprised by the extent of heroin use," Arpaio said as a task force of detectives and posse members went door to door to talk to parents of students who are suspected of purchasing heroin. Arpaio said the goal behind the random testing would be to get students into treatment, but the idea was met with skepticism. "I'd love to do it if we could," state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said Saturday. When Horne served on the Paradise Valley School Board, random drug testing was implemented for athletes and other students in extracurricular activities. However, it was overturned by a federal court judge in Phoenix after the district was sued by the Arizona Civil Liberties Union. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals later reinstated the testing, but limited it to students involved in voluntary activities like sports. Eleanor Eisenberg, executive director of the Arizona Civil Liberties Union, said a new attempt at testing won't fly. "If they start implementing random testing for all students, we'll be back in court," Eisenberg said. Sheriff's officials contacted 315 households Saturday, mainly in Scottsdale but also in Chandler, south Phoenix, north Phoenix, Cave Creek, Mesa, Queen Creek and parts of the West Valley. Parents were given packets of information on treatment centers and drug-abuse counseling that is available. The canvass program resulted from an eight-month probe spearheaded by the Sheriff's Office into a suspected heroin ring that was selling to students via cellphones. Sheriff's detectives subpoenaed the cellphones of the 11 suspected dealers and analyzed more than 160,000 phone calls. They identified 581 households where multiple calls had been made. Lt. Paul Chagolla, a sheriff's spokesman, said records that would provide more details about the case would be made available this week. Sheriff's authorities said they didn't know what to expect when they began knocking on doors early Saturday morning. But at the end of the day, they were pleased with the cooperation of most parents. Sheriff's Detective Al Manza said he contacted the father of a former Saguaro High School student. The father said he suspected his son's problems but could never confirm them. "With tears in his eyes, the father thanked me and said it's better to be told about it this way than hear he's been arrested," Manza said. Deputy Brian Eilola said the mother of another former Scottsdale high school student didn't want to talk at first until she was shown the drug-counseling pamphlets. "She said we were two years too late, but she agreed to show the pamphlets to other students and become a community advocate," Eilola said. Detective Marty Overton said one father was a little confused when he showed up because another deputy had been there earlier. "Turned out I was there for his other son," Overton said. Apparently some of the parents, following initial contact, called the sheriff's command center to get more information on what they could do to help their children. The households of an additional 146 students were also on the canvass list. But these addresses originated from undercover sources rather than cellphones. Arpaio said this should be a wake-up call for parents who think drug abuse is something that goes on only along Van Buren Street. He believes Scottsdale was targeted because of its reputation for affluence. The door-to-door canvassing will continue today. In addition, all of the 727 households will receive follow-up letters from the Sheriff's Office. Reach the reporter at thomas.ropp@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6880