PEABODY — They didn't have much good to say about John Brophy on the rainy streets of Peabody yesterday — and there was even less enthusiasm for the system that has allowed the so-called dozing dispatcher to keep his job ever since snoozing through a 911 call in 2005.

The city's efforts to fire Brophy have been stymied by courts and arbitrators, most recently last week when a judge refused to nullify an injunction preventing the city from firing him.

In a random sampling of views, even those sympathetic to Brophy tend to back away when they hear the whole story.

"I think they should ease up on him," said Kim Duby of Peabody. "They all take turns sleeping."

Brophy slept through emergency calls concerning a baby with breathing troubles. Fortunately, the child recovered. But Duby's sympathy backed away when she was informed that Brophy subsequently failed a drug test — a test later thrown out by a judge. Later, an arbitrator ruled that firing him was too harsh a punishment.

The city then fired him again after Brophy refused to take a drug test before returning to work. The courts granted an injunction preventing his firing, but city lawyers believe it came too late. That matter is also before the courts.

"I think civil servants should be held responsible for drug tests," Duby said. "I work for the airlines, and I have to take random drug tests."

"If (he has) a medical reason," said Cindy Hughes of Peabody, "they should check into it." But she frowned when she heard the allegations of drug use.

"Anyone that can't do the job shouldn't work," she said.

Hughes conceded that the clients of her cleaning business would likely forgive her if she fell asleep on the job — once. But the same shouldn't apply for Brophy, she said.

"We're talking the public safety here," she said.

"It's terrible," said Evie Hoffman of Salem as she stopped to order an ice cream at Treadwells. "It's not effective if we retain people who are not doing the job. It's really not fair to the public." She stepped back and shook her head.

"I'm really pretty shocked," she said.

"Deplorable," added her friend Harriet Hower, also of Salem. "Appalling. ... In my opinion, he should be fired."

Will Mador of Peabody had a quick answer when asked about the system that has dragged the case out for more than three years.

"It's politics. ... I think he ought to be fired. ... To me they gave him a lot of chances, and he didn't do anything to right himself," he said.

Despite all the court action, Brophy's reluctance to take a drug test has contributed to the fact that he hasn't worked for the Peabody Fire Department since the incident. Nevertheless, court rulings threaten to reward him with back pay for the entire time.

In tight-knit Peabody, there is a reluctance for some to speak out on the issue.

"I know the family," one man said sympathetically, moving away from a Salem News reporter. "But he shouldn't be reinstated. I don't want to give my name. But if you fall asleep on a 911 call ..." He shook his head and climbed into his vehicle.

Youths Mike Meuse and Thomas Basquez of Peabody admitted that they haven't followed the story. They were forgiving regarding Brophy's sleeping habits — but not his alleged drug use.

"If he's doing drugs and he falls asleep on people," Basquez said, "they should fire him."

Meuse nodded. "You're supposed to be awake."