INTEGRITY

Police Department Needs Direction

The last of six Jackson police officers arrested a year ago in an FBI probe
into corruption has pleaded guilty, but resentment remains in the department.

Last week, former Patrolman Tim Henderson was sentenced in federal court to
eight years in prison and former Det. Wallace Jones to four years for
accepting money to protect drug dealers, who were undercover FBI agents.
Former Sgt. Fred Gaddis, who was scheduled for trial today, pleaded guilty
to reduced charges Friday. He faces eight years in prison.

The charges have hurt police morale, says a Jackson Police Officers
Association official, with lingering effects.

JPOA President Frederick Fleming said officers who commit wrongdoing should
be punished, but added that support for officers is lacking. "That is a
problem at JPD," Fleming said. "That is why morale is so low."

The arrests were stunning, with the six accused of taking payoffs while in
uniform and in marked cars, aiding what they believed to be drug
traffickers to help funnel cocaine into inner-city neighborhoods.

The arrests fueled fears unearthed in a 1999 survey of police and citizens
that found the widespread perception drug deal payoffs were rife in JPD ranks.

Some 76 percent of officers surveyed believed up to 25 percent of the force
was taking money from drug dealers.

Nothing could be more demoralizing than adding credence to those fears,
aided by JPD's inability to police its own ranks with an Internal Affairs
unit expanded after the survey.

No department can operate at top efficiency if its integrity is in
question. But the problem is that since Jackson does not have a permanent
police chief, it's doubtful the force can operate at full efficiency
without a firm hand in charge.

With issues such as morale, integrity, efficiency and direction,
perceptions are everything and the perceptions holding sway now are ones of
official indifference.

For whatever reason, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. has balked at naming a
permanent chief to replace Bracy Coleman who resigned March 7 - some 278
days ago - 160 days from when the mayor was re-elected and sworn in.

Police morale is not going to get better on its own or through temporary,
interim or "acting" measures. There is no chief with the authority to set a
new tone or make lasting changes. For that, Mayor Johnson is to blame.