THE VERDICT

The split verdict in the trial of two Schenectady police officers
comes as a further blow to the scandal-battered department. Even
though Lt. Michael Hamilton and Patrolman Nicola Messere were
acquitted of some charges, and their lawyers plan to ask that their
convictions be reversed, the presumption of innocence is gone.

Messere was convicted of giving crack cocaine to an informant.
Hamilton was convicted of tipping off an informant about a drug
investigation by federal agents. Last year, two other officers,
Michael Siler and Richard Barnett, pleaded guilty to related charges.

Some defenders of these officers, in and out of the department, have
defended their conduct on the grounds that they did not sell drugs
for personal gain, but sought information that would enable them to
arrest drug dealers. And Hamilton and Messere were among the
department's most respected officers, in part because of their high
arrest records.

But they also deliberately chose to break the law, which cannot be
condoned. For one thing, putting oneself above the law tends to
result in other odious conduct. That happened with Siler, who had
sexual relations with three of his drug-addicted prostitute
informants, and Barnett, who appears to have been involved with his
wife in an insurance fraud. (And Siler testified that he and Barnett,
while on duty, illegally threw rocks at someone's car.)

Even though police officers may often give informants money that they
suspect will be used to buy drugs, that does not make it defensible
to facilitate continued addiction by acting as an actual supplier, or
to put drugs back on the street. Yet the moral complications must be
acknowledged. For example, one former prostitute who said Messere
gave her drugs, also testified that he saved her life by getting her
off the street and on the road to recovery.

The felony convictions of Hamilton and Messere mean they will lose
their jobs, and they face maximum sentences of 20 years in prison.
Any such sentences, on the basis of what information is currently
available, would be much too severe.

The federal investigation has been valuable in bringing to light
problems in this divided department. The new public safety
commissioner will need support from all Schenectady officers in
making sure such abuses do not occur in the future.