WOODALL SHOULD COME CLEAN ABOUT TASK FORCE WOES

This morning, I'd like to go back to a story that hit our news pages two
weeks ago. It involved a Jackson police officer, Sgt. Leslee Hallenback, a
member of the gang task force.

Now, Sgt. Hallenback isn't a well-known name outside of the law enforcement
community. And those who have read the story of Sgt. Hallenback, unless
they were in the immediate family of Jackson law enforcement, probably
found it hard to follow.

The short version is that our District Attorney, Jerry Woodall, wrote a
letter to Jackson Police Chief Rick Staples saying that he would no longer
use Sgt. Hallenback as a witness in state court cases. In short, she no
longer had credibility with the D.A.

The story then wove through charges and counter-charges: a drug case
involving Sgt. Hallenback as an investigating officer that was tossed out
for the lack of a search warrant; public records requests to see the
letters between Woodall and Staples, filed by a Jackson officer who has a
discrimination lawsuit against the police department; union activities; an
FBI investigation of anonymous charges.

Even the short version takes time to explain. To link them together, well,
we'd be here all day.

The story did expose a rather unseemly side of law enforcement, but that is
a profession that will have its moments of unseemliness. It's just part of
the job, considering whom the clientele, so to speak, are.

But beyond all of the charges and counter-charges between the police, the
D.A. and police officers, there are three reasons why you should care why
Sgt. Leslee Hallenback has become a ping-pong ball between the D.A. and the
Jackson police.

Reason No. 1: Court documents indicate that Sgt. Hallenback testified in a
drug trial that was dismissed because police went into a house several
hours before a search warrant was obtained. One learns in fifth grade that
that's a big No-No. One of the attorneys in the case even charged that the
police lied in court about the search warrant.

You should be concerned because we apparently have some police officers who
do not understand that you can't just break down the door, then apologize,
with no consequences.

If Woodall were really concerned, he would order an investigation of the
gang task force to let the people who pay the bills - you - know if they
are breaking the law, or not. We have the right to know that police are
following the law as they pursue those who might be breaking it. If
criminal charges are warranted, so be it. It's for the good of the police
department that it has the public trust. Simply saying one officer can't
testify doesn't clear up anything.

Reason No. 2: This silence by the D.A. is disturbing. He won't even tell
Chief Staples why he's freezing Sgt. Hallenback from testifying. Staples
says she's OK. The U.S. Attorney's office, apparently, says she's OK.
Woodall's failure to explain himself, to Staples and the public, is an
arrogant act by someone who thinks you don't have the right, or need, to know.

You should be concerned because if the D.A. and the Jackson police chief
can't, and apparently don't, talk, how can their crime fighting be effective?

Reason No. 3: This ties with reasons No. 1 and No. 2.

Those of us who stay in tune with such things wonder why these law
enforcement "task forces'' sometimes seem to breed cowboys, of a sort. Let
me take you back about 10 years or so ago, when the drug task force was so
messed up, and the evidence room at the sheriff's department so
compromised, that even the TBI had to admit that it would be impossible to
investigate.

Now comes the gang task force and charges against one of its key members
that the D.A. apparently believes, and a court case that was thrown out
because the task force either botched or ignored the search warrant process.

Both the city police and the D.A. need to explain what is going on here, at
the least for the integrity of the good officers.

Exactly what is going on here?

Some in power do have the answer.

But they're not going to tell it to you.

Richard Schneider is The Jackson Sun's executive editor.
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