MANY TAINTED BY SCANDAL

The fake-drug scandal has gone unresolved far too long. We do not yet know
who is responsible, nor who is to be held accountable. A thorough
investigation is necessary to determine how a breakdown of this magnitude
occurred in the local criminal justice system. This requires scrutiny of
all parties involved.

District attorney and prosecutors. In addition to investigating Officer
Mark Delapaz's role, the special prosecutor appointed by District Attorney
Bill Hill should examine the role of his own prosecutors in pursuing the
indictments and in some cases the conviction of innocent victims. Was their
focus primarily on getting convictions rather than on truth and justice?

City Council. The public trust must be restored for all who live and
work in Dallas. The council must take action to assure that a scandal like
this will never happen again.

City manager. Once the investigation is complete, the council must
determine if there were failures on the part of the city manager and his
oversight of city business.

Dallas Police Department. Everything must be examined. Are policies and
procedures adequate? Did the officers and their commanders comply with all
policies? Who makes certain that procedures are followed?

Police associations. Until this scandal is resolved, there is a stigma
on every Dallas officer, deserved or not. The many honest, hardworking
officers who put their lives on the line daily for us do not deserve this.

The police associations - the Dallas Police Association, the Latino Peace
Officers Association and the Fraternal Order of Police - do a disservice to
their members by attempting to shield what may be some bad apples in their
ranks.

LULAC. It's wrong to fight to protect someone simply because of race and
ethnicity. Our fight must be to protect those who are wrongly accused,
unfairly persecuted or unjustly denied their rights, regardless of their
background.

The League of United Latin American Citizens has remained silent for two
years. The only action LULAC took was to pass a resolution not to get
involved until the FBI completed its investigation. The group's leaders
decided to hold off because Latino officers and commanders were implicated.

It now is addressing this issue, even though the investigation is ongoing.
LULAC has much expertise to provide.

We have all experienced adversity, and ended up better for it. We have to
hope that the same will hold true for all the parties in the fake-drug
scandal. Never again should anyone experience this kind of injustice at the
hands of those who are supposed to serve and protect us. Never again should
we remain silent or hesitate to speak out because those involved are of a
certain race or nationality.

Never again.

Diana Flores is a community activist and a trustee of the Dallas County
Community College District.