FAKE DRUGS: INDICTMENT CAN'T BE THE LAST WORD

Dozens of people convicted of crimes they may not have committed. The
falsely accused spending months in jail. Families destroyed. Hundreds
of pounds of ground Sheetrock and pool chalk mistaken for cocaine.

Numerous finger-pointing accusations flying between police and
prosecutors. Fifteen months of probing by the FBI into this scandal,
the biggest black eye in the recent history of the Dallas Police
Department. Millions of dollars spent to sort it all out.

And it all comes down to one man - at least so far.

Dallas police Senior Cpl. Mark Delapaz, who has been on paid
administrative leave since January 2002, was indicted by a federal
grand jury this week. Charges include depriving individuals of their
civil rights and making false statements to a federal agent.

It's a start. Since the scandal erupted in late 2001, this is the
first serious move toward holding someone accountable. But this
indictment can't be the last word. There is too much left unsaid, too
many questions left unanswered, including the big one: How did this
happen? Were there other factors - pressures to make arrests, a
breakdown in supervision, procedural changes regarding use of
informants - that created a culture within the Police Department where
a scandal like this could take root? And once it did, did the
department drag its feet as innocent people sat in jail? Did Police
Chief Terrell Bolton try to mislead the public with false and
contradictory statements about, among other things, whether there ever
was an internal investigation?

While the FBI says its investigation continues, now is the time for
the city to take its share of responsibility for coming up with
answers. The Police Department had promised to revisit the matter
after the FBI completed its work. That no longer is necessary. With
officials like District Attorney Bill Hill expressing doubts about how
Chief Bolton has handled fallout from the case, there is significant
doubt whether the Police Department ever will be able to speak
definitively, and with any degree of credibility, about a case that
already has brought it - and our city - enormous embarrassment.

Mayor Laura Miller must appoint an independent, citizen-chaired
investigative commission to get to the bottom of this. The falsely
accused and their families deserve to know why their lives were
ruined. And the entire community deserves to know that its officials
are doing whatever is necessary to prevent such a travesty from
occurring again.