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Disgraced Allegheny County sheriff's deputy Richard Dwyer is fighting to keep his job at a hearing prompted by a union grievance over his firing for being found with cocaine in his system following the fatal shooting of a suspect.

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Allegheny County sheriff's deputy Richard Dwyer was fired last week after a routine drug test following the fatal shooting of a suspect found metabolized cocaine in urine.

Today, Dwyer is fighting to keep his job at a hearing prompted by a union grievance over his firing, TribLive.com reports.

Meanwhile, Dwyer's attorney insists his client was not high on cocaine when he shot at a rape suspect and that no drugs were found in his client's blood, the website writes, adding:

Defense attorney James Wymard said a minute amount of metabolized cocaine found in Deputy Richard Dwyer's urine doesn't mean that he was on drugs at the time a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force opened fire Jan. 6 on rape suspect Leslie Sapp in Pittsburgh's Knoxville neighborhood.

District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said this week that Dwyer, 44, could be charged with manslaughter if investigators determine the cocaine found his system impaired his cognitive abilities.

Dwyer was part of the task force trying to arrest Sapp when police said Sapp pulled out what turned out to be a pellet gun and took a shooting stance.

Wymard said officials did not draw blood from Dwyer, but even if they did, they wouldn't have found anything.

"There was no evidence of anything in his blood, and there was absolutely nothing in his blood for several days," Wymard said. "He wasn't alone in this shooting. Numerous people have said it was a justifiable shooting."

Dwyer fired at least one of the seven shots that struck Sapp, although Zappala has said Dwyer didn't fire the fatal shot.

Wymard said he had not seen the lab report but said the cocaine metabolites measured were a "tiny" amount.

Allegheny County Sheriff Bill Mullen said Thursday he and the department are embarrassed by the positive drug test.

"I'm disappointed. It's embarrassing -- embarrassing for the department," Mullen said. "He had done an excellent job. I never heard anything about him having a problem."

Mullen said he talked to Dwyer at the hospital, where Dwyer was being treated for minor injuries after the shooting.

"He showed no signs of being on drugs," Mullen said.

Mullen said the investigation is continuing. It will be up to Zappala whether to charge Dwyer.

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