OFFICERS SQUARE OFF IN POT TRIAL

A marijuana trial expected to pit one police officer's word against
another's is scheduled to begin today in Lubbock County Court-at-Law No. 2.

A Lubbock County jury will begin hearing evidence in the unusual misdemeanor
case involving a police officer who was stopped and arrested in February by
an officer working outside his jurisdiction.

A key issue is what route former Abernathy police Officer Benjamin Buono
took to the convenience store where he was arrested.

Buono, who had been with the Abernathy Police Department for just under
three months prior to his arrest, said he's 100 percent sure he drove down a
well-traveled dirt path on private property.

Enrique Saldana, the Lubbock Cooper Independent School District officer who
arrested Buono, wrote in a report that Buono traveled the wrong direction on
a one-way street.

Police reports state Saldana initiated a traffic stop after observing Buono
drive the wrong way on a one-way street and run a stop sign.

If a jury determines Buono was not traveling on a public roadway, charges
arising from the traffic stop could be deemed illegal, said Artie Aguilar,
Buono's attorney.

''This will be an interesting deal,'' Aguilar said. ''It's interesting
because it's usually a police officer vs. a citizen. In this case, you're
going to have two peace officers who are going to testify very
differently.''

Buono said, ''Regardless of how this thing goes, it's going to be a
lose-lose situation. You're going to have one officer telling the truth and
one officer telling a lie. That's not going to be good for the peace of mind
for the citizenry.

''Anytime a police officer is found to be lying about anything, it affects
the integrity and professionalism of police in general. If you can't trust
the police, who can you trust?'' Buono said. ''That's going to diminish the
people of the South Plains' trust in and respect for their police
officers.''

Buono was fired shortly after his arrest Feb. 24.

Saldana, both sides agree, was working outside his jurisdiction when he
pulled over Buono.

The night of Feb. 23, Buono and a friend - a security officer - were leaving
a nightclub southeast of Lubbock. Buono said they were driving toward a
convenience store on a dirt path. When he approached a street, Buono said,
he saw a patrol car down the road to his right. He then drove across the
street into the parking lot.

Saldana reported that he was parked at the convenience store toward which
Buono was driving. He saw the car driven by Buono head the wrong way down a
one-way street and run a stop sign, his report stated.

However, Aguilar said, the intersection has no stop sign.

Buono performed field sobriety tests when a camera-mounted patrol car
arrived.

The video tape shows Buono stumble after walking a straight line. The
stumble, Buono said, resulted from attempts to showboat after being asked to
repeat the test.

''I tried to be a jerk and make a snappy turn and lost my balance. It (being
asked to redo tests) was starting to get on my nerves,'' he said.

During the other tests, Buono appears balanced, speaks clearly and seems in
control of his faculties.

After being told he failed all but one test, Buono was arrested for DWI. He
told The Avalanche-Journal that he drank three or four beers during a
three-hour period that night.

A subsequent search of the car driven by Buono turned up a small quantity of
suspected marijuana, reports show.

The DWI and marijuana possession charges Buono faces will be tried
separately. Both cases are Class B misdemeanors.

The state opted to try the drug possession charge first.

Prosecutors, Aguilar said, must prove that Buono knew the drugs were in the
car, which he says he didn't.

Also, Saldana didn't report detecting an odor of marijuana in the car before
searching it. If officers detect such odors, they have probable cause to
search, Aguilar said.

Buono, who's been unemployed since his arrest in February, said he's ready
to stand judgment.

''I've been ready since the day this happened. My interpretation of the
events, I think, will prove to be true,'' he said. ''Either way this thing
goes, I'll probably never work again. The charges and the arrest will always
be on my record. It's almost a kiss of death in the profession - whether
you're acquitted or not.''