Opinion ID: 73693
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Fitness for Duty Examination

Text: In any case where a police department reasonably perceives an officer to be even mildly paranoid, hostile, or oppositional, a fitness for duty examination is jobrelated and consistent with business necessity. Police departments place armed officers in positions where they can do tremendous harm if they act irrationally. Contrary to Watson’s contention, the ADA does not, indeed cannot, require a police 6 department to forgo a fitness for duty examination to wait until a perceived threat becomes real or questionable behavior results in injuries. The evidence shows the City had good cause for concern as to whether Watson was fit to be a police officer. Watson had overreacted in many situations and his colleagues worried he might be paranoid. On this basis, we conclude there is no evidence from which a rational juror could find the City acted improperly by ordering Watson to undergo the fitness for duty examination.