Sept. 19--PALM BEACH -- A town police officer who reportedly damaged a police vehicle while on duty and then failed a drug test was fired Tuesday, Palm Beach officials said.
Officer Levente Henter, who had been with the department since 2004, was dismissed because of a June 24 incident on Via Bellaria, the town said.
According to the termination notice, Henter was involved in an accident while responding to an alarm call in the 200 block of the street, which is on the Intracoastal Waterway side of the island north of Southern Boulevard.
Henter failed to see a metal chain as he pulled into a driveway, causing more than $1,800 in damage to his police car, including a cracked windshield, a broken side view mirror and multiple scratches across the hood, department investigators said.
He was required to take a drug test shortly after the accident, and the test came back positive for marijuana, the town said.
Henter hired a company to conduct an independent drug test, which came back negative for marijuana. However, town and police department officials determined the test was administered at a later date and could not verify his condition on the date of the accident.
Henter can appeal the firing, the termination notice said.
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