Pubdate: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) Copyright: 2001 The Sydney Morning Herald Contact: GPO Box 3771, Sydney NSW 2001 Fax: 61-(0)2-9282 3492 Website: http://www.smh.com.au/ Forum: http://forums.fairfax.com.au/ Author: Les Kennedy SIEGE CONSTABLE FACING SACK A police officer at the scene of a fatal shooting of a farmer is facing dismissal by the Police Commissioner, Mr Peter Ryan, after testing positive to cannabis. The officer, a senior constable with the Tactical Operations Unit, showed positive when he and other officers were given routine drug tests after the February 24 shooting of Mr Jim Hallinan. Mr Hallinan, who lived on a property near the southern NSW township of Tumut, was shot dead after a day-long siege. The head of the homicide squad, Superintendent Ron Smith, last night confirmed the officer had been suspended pending a coronial inquiry. He said that since July 1, 1998, drug and alcohol tests had been required following any police operation in which anyone was killed or seriously injured. But "the officer who tested positive was not the officer who fired the fatal shot and at no time did he fire a weapon during the incident". - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D