By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Three years ago while she was on duty, City Parks Worker Corliss Duke picked up a marijuana cigarette and a crack pipe, wrapped them in paper, and went to lunch.

Suddenly a Police Officer pinned the 100-pound woman to the ground, sliced open her uniform pockets and searched her for drugs.

A Parks Dept. supervisor watched as his handcuffed coworker was tossed into a police van and hauled off.

"I didn't know what was happening, I thought it was a stick-up," said Ms. Duke.

But no one came to the defense of the 15-year veteran Parks employee and Local 1505 member. And the police told her, "Shut up" when she tried to explain the simple truth: She was just doing her job.

Ms. Duke was snagged in what seemed to be an open-and-shut case. But a closer examination of the facts, a determination to prove her innocence, and DC 37's legal defense team helped Duke regain her dignity, her job and three years of back pay.

She was part of a select crew of experienced employees who kept play areas safe for children. They wore Parks uniforms, carried beepers and used gloves and tongs to get rid of often-diseased hypodermic needles and a confetti of crack vials.

Ms. Duke was inoculated for hepatitis B and received special training to collect and log the drug paraphernalia for proper disposal as contaminated waste.

A lack of communication between Parks and the Police Dept. - which was never informed of the Parks drug cleanup initiative - may have contributed to the arrest.

Arrested for doing her job
Thrown in a jail cell for 24 hours and charged with drug possession, Ms. Duke went from an upstanding municipal employee to an accused druggie. She said, "I felt so ashamed, especially since my sister is a detective and I knew a lot of the police officers who saw me that day."

Upon release, Ms. Duke got medical evidence that she had never used illicit drugs. The Parks Dept. fired her anyway.

"This shows how appearances can be deceiving," said Eddie Demmings, her lawyer and DC 37's Associate General Counsel. "The employer has the burden of proof. The employee should not have to prove her innocence."

The arresting officer failed to show up at any of the eight scheduled hearings, and the criminal case was dismissed. Last July, an arbitrator threw out the Parks Department's charges and ordered the agency to reinstate Ms. Duke and restore her lost wages.

"The grievance procedure works. It vindicated this union member," said Local 1505 President Michael Hood.

Back at work and reassigned to Tompkins Square Park, she said, "I'm glad I had Mr. Demmings and DC 37 behind me. I stuck to my principles. I never used drugs. I was not going to be railroaded. I just had to hold on."

Local 1505's Corliss Duke is back on the job after wrongful firing.