DRUG SQUAD IN A BIND

In two days, Michael Berkow will put on the uniform to be the chief
of the largest police agency in Chatham County.

With that new uniform come many expectations, among them a lower
violent crime rate and safer streets.

What remains in question is whether he will control the
multi-jurisdictional task force charged with stopping illegal drugs here.

The Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team is at the center of a
power struggle and a political dispute between the city and the county.

The municipal police chiefs, the county sheriff and the district
attorney comprise a Drug Advisory Board, which oversees the drug
unit. County Manager Russ Abolt is the boss.

City Manager Michael Brown wants the CNT commander to report
directly to the chief of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police,
an arrangement called for in the 2003 police merger agreement.

Authority over the agency is one in a number of problems plaguing
the drug unit.

CNT is understaffed and disorganized, and its staff lacks sufficient
training, according to the office of District Attorney Spencer Lawton Jr.

The agency is plagued by pay discrepancies, outdated policies, poor
record-keeping and a perceived lack of leadership.

In short, drug enforcement needs a massive overhaul, according to a
memo that Assistant District Attorney Ian R. Heap wrote a little
over three months ago.

Heap, who is assigned to CNT, has applied to be the drug unit's next
commander.

The Savannah Morning News obtained Heap's assessment through an Open
Records Request.

The memo is dated Aug. 3, six weeks before CNT Commander Eddie
Williams submitted his retirement letter.

Heap and County Manager Abolt declined to say what role - if any -
the memo played in Williams' departure.

Assessment sought

Complaints about CNT began months ago and came from various levels
in both the city and the county: officers, law enforcement leaders
and politicians.

"There were rumblings that the merger was causing problems," Abolt said.

Abolt went directly to the source and spent two days talking to task
force members.

The problems ranged from how informants are handled and drug-buy
money to faulty computer programs and wayward evidence procedures.

Agents also complained of vacancies in the 42-member task force.

As of Wednesday, CNT was down nine SCMPD officers, and one each from
Thunderbolt, Pooler and the Chatham County Sheriff's Department,
Williams said.

Interim SCMPD Chief Willie Lovett said he authorized filling all of
CNT's openings several months ago, but he has not received the
necessary paperwork from Williams.

Meanwhile, Williams contends he has submitted that paperwork.

A few days after his visit, Abolt met with Heap and Lawton, the
district attorney. At that time, Abolt asked Heap to draft his
assessment of CNT. Abolt won't talk specifics as far as Heap's
assessment is concerned but says he recognizes the unit needs "tweaking."

But the assessment calls for more than tweaking.

It lays out the need for a complete overhaul of the task force's
mission and operations.

"What needs to be done now is to get a grip on what the actual
mission of CNT is and confine its activities to that mission," Lawton said.

Heap argues CNT needs to shift its focus from street-level dealers
to mid-level and large-scale drug distributors. Over the past few
years, only a small part of CNT has been dedicated to those activities.

"We're going to make a conscious effort to distract CNT from corner
stuff, small busts," Abolt said.

The Drug Advisory Board is in the process of shifting street-level
drug enforcement to SCMPD, Garden City, Pooler, Port Wentworth,
Bloomingdale, Thunderbolt and Tybee patrol officers.

The Heap report recommends CNT provide liaisons to each department
to offer training and technical assistance to these street officers.

After CNT began operations in 1994, many regular patrol officers
took a "hands off" approach to drug enforcement.

"When CNT came into existence, it was generally looked upon as the
drug enforcement agency," Lawton said. "There are a number of
instances where a patrol officer would see a drug transaction on a
corner and do nothing because he thought it was CNT's job."

Williams, the outgoing commander, admits he struggled with CNT's
mission. But he said he could not ignore the public's complaints
about corner drug sales.

"People say that's not what CNT is for, but what am I supposed to do
when people call for help?" he asked.

Communication gaps

CNT also has endured significant personnel management problems,
according to the report.

Officers are now placed on a five-year rotation with CNT. They
complain that once they become proficient, they are moved out the
anti-drug agency.

Being assigned to CNT is perceived by some officers as a punishment
because it takes officers away from their home bases, causing them
to miss promotion opportunities, the report states.

Differing rates of pay also are a sore spot.

The report calls it "fundamentally unfair" to pay two people doing
the same job different salaries.

Although the report does not refer to Williams by name, it
criticizes the commander for not being at meetings, shifting
responsibility to command staff and not communicating with agents.

"The commander should lead by example, by being present, showing
interest in the workings of the unit," the report states.

CNT also needs procedures to govern daily operations, according to the report.

Former commander Tom Sprague drafted Standard Operating Procedures,
but none of CNT's agents can locate a copy of it.

Communication has been a chronic problem, and that is being used as
the main justification for the city's push to put the unit under
SCMPD jurisdiction. While the report does not specifically mention
communication, city and county officials have cited it in the past.

The majority of violent crimes in the city are drug-related, Lovett
said. Yet, CNT and local police do not share information.

"People working together is the best way to get to know the drug
culture," he said. "We have to have a plan so we know what each
other is doing. "

But keeping a distance is nothing new among the police departments.

"There never was communication," Williams said. "I've been in
situations on the (county's) Metro Drug Squad, doing surveillance,
where I've looked through binoculars, and there's an SPD officer
staring back at me."

Communication would improve with a database of drug offenders, Abolt
said. But questions remain about how long a database would take to
set up, the cost of setting it up and who will have access to it.

Disagreeing on details

The report sidesteps the main political issue, which is future
control over CNT.

The focus of the matter involves language in two legal agreements:
the 1994 document establishing CNT and the 2003 intergovernmental
agreement that merged the city and the county police forces.

Abolt and CNT officials rely on the existing 1994 agreement, which
gives the county manager ultimate control over the unit.

The city manager contends the merger agreement voided the previous document.

The merger states the SCMPD police chief "will assume responsibility
for the administration and oversight of CNT, which will be a
separate division of the (police department)."

The District Attorney maintains that the original 1994 CNT agreement
is still legally binding.

"Two people (city and county) out of a dozen or so can't just come
in and make a side agreement that nullifies the original one," Lawton said.

Abolt said the merger agreement failed to address the spirit of CNT
- - police agencies working together.

Brown has publicly pushed for SCMPD control of CNT. However, he is
reluctant to talk about it now.

"The ball is in their (the county's) court. It's a regional unit,
and the accountability needs to be there," Brown said. "We agree it
has to focus on street activity and distributors. ... We will be
making some decisions going forward."

There are no specific plans to amend the agreements, but Abolt said
that will be addressed once a new commander is in place.

SCMPD spokesman Sgt. Mike Wilson said Berkow was unavailable for
comment but did say that "to give an accessment of the CNT issue
prior to his first official day on the job would be premature."

Soliciting candidates

The new police chief will have some say in CNT's future, but its
long-term fate will be up to its next commander. The county so far
has received 10 applications for the position. Abolt won't say who
the candidates are.

"I want someone who can command respect and confidence, and work
with all chiefs of police, particularly Berkow, because he's new," Abolt said.

The job description calls for 10 years of law enforcement experience
and "strong evidence of both task and result orientation in drug
enforcement, asset seizure and drug case prosecution."

It does not specify candidates must be sworn officers but states
they must meet the requirements for the state's Peace Officer
Standards and Training certification.

The only known candidate thus far is Heap.

He has never served as a sworn officer, but he has spent about half
of his 12-year career with the District Attorney's Office working
with CNT. Heap advises on search warrants, works with confidential
informants and prosecutes all substantial drug cases.

He won't talk about his qualifications or why he wants the job.

"Anybody can offer advice and criticism, but at some point you have
to put up or shut up. So I'm going to put up," he said.

Heap also won't talk about the report, only to say he wrote it at
the request of the county manager.

"Some people would take that as a slam on the commander or a job
tryout for me, but that's certainly not the truth," he said. "It was
meant to be a frank, candid, confidential assessment. I was honest
in my assessment. ... I suggested in the future what the commander
would do to be successful."

Abolt said he plans to take the candidates' resumes to the Drug
Advisory Board in next few days. The board will select the pool for
interviews.

Abolt, Sprague, the SCMPD chief and the county's human resources
director will interview candidates. Abolt will make the final decision.

The plan is to have a new commander on board by the end of the year
before Williams retires, Abolt said.

Making arrests

The restructuring of CNT will not come until next year. While
adjustments are needed, there is no rush, Abolt said.

CNT is doing its job - and it is more effective than any other drug
unit in the county's past, Abolt said.

CNT reported 219 arrests in the third quarter this year, and it
seized more than $500,000 worth of narcotics.

In September, it wrapped up a yearlong investigation with the
indictments of 16 members of a cocaine trafficking ring.

Last month, county officials dedicated a new CNT headquarters with
14,600 square feet of office space and a 5,500-square-foot,
high-tech warehouse.

"Agents still are motivated and focused, despite the vacancies and
the problems," Williams said. "We just hope there will be some breakthrough."

Officers might not be sure about which agency they work for, but
they know in their hearts that they work for the community, Abolt said.

"We understand we have a lot we have to do," he said. "In spite of
all that, they're still effective. ... It's amazing what you can
accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit. That's what CNT is
all about."

CNT Third-Quarter Seizures

July 1-Sept. 30

Arrests: 219

Powder cocaine seized: 3,216 grams

Crack cocaine seized: 391 grams

Methamphetamine seized: 4 grams

Marijuana seized: 1,229 ounces

Heroin seized: 8 grams

Ecstasy seized: 119 tablets

Miscellaneous pills seized: 404 tablets

Value of total narcotics seized: $538,120

Firearms seized: 43

Cash seized: $49,141

Vehicles seized: 21

Other recommendations in the report include:

New computer system: Since Jan. 1, 2005, no case reports have been
entered into the system. The only record of information is a single
paper copy. CNT also needs a searchable database of drug offenders
that can be accessed by other agencies, including municipal police
departments and the DEA.

Training: There is no in-house training. Agents only learn generic
drug investigations at the police academy. This includes the two
captains who are tasked with running daily operations.

More civilian specialized personnel: The report calls for the hiring
of financial analysts, data entry workers, evidence technicians and
intelligence analysts. This would free officers to work directly on
investigations.