We DO Need Stinkin’ Badges

How important IS that least-appreciated of all senses, the sense of smell?

Just ask Officer David Agostino, whose suspension as a Pittsburgh police officer due to his anosmia (reduced sense of smell) was today supported by a Harrisburg appeals court.

“The evidence sufficiently demonstrated that Agostino suffered a physical disability that rendered him unfit to serve as a police officer,” Judge Bernard L. McGinley wrote. “Critically, Agostino frequently patrolled alone and served as a first responder in instances that required a sense of smell to ensure his safety and the safety of others.”

Agostino, who joined the force in 1998, was seriously injured in August of 2004 in an off-duty motorcycle accident which caused severe head injury–a common cause of anosmia. According to the three-judge Commonwealth Court appeals panel, his termination was justified because officers must be able to detect drugs, alcohol, hazardous materials, natural gas and other substances.

Agostino insisted he was capable of performing police duties. He argued that a sense of smell is neither an essential function nor tested by the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission.

The township said Agostino’s inability to smell impeded his performance. A fellow officer testified that Agostino was unable to smell the alcohol and marijuana odor around a motorist who had led police on a high-speed chase. Collier Township Police Chief Thomas D. Devin reported that Agostino’s condition became a problem during a call in which the officer helped an elderly resident restart a furnace and could have potentially resulted in an explosion.

Pennsylvania State Police Maj. John Gallaher, executive director of the state municipal officers’ training commission, said physicians who examine recruits are supposed to issue an opinion about fitness for duty. There are standards for vision, hearing and cardiovascular health, but not for smell.

There are many reasons a police officer would need to be able to smell, said Edward Mamet, a retired New York City Police captain who is a consultant on police practices. He said he once sniffed out a major gas leak, as well as the telltale yeast from an illegal still.

“Where it’s dark, sometimes your sense of smell can help you, guide your way,” he said. “There’s the smell of death when a body turns what we call ripe after being dead for a few days. It’s a horrible smell.”

Collier Township solicitor Chuck Means said lawyers involved in the case could not find a legal precedent that directly addressed Agostino’s situation. Larger departments, he noted, could assign someone who can’t smell to duties in which safety would not be an issue. “In Collier Township the police officers are all out in the field and they’re first responders.”

Agostino’s lawyer, Ronald Koerner, said he was unsure whether he would pursue raising a stink over the officer’s dismissal. “I’m disappointed, but we’ll have to see what we’re going to do.”