THE DELTA NIGHTMARE

The prison sentences imposed on three former Manatee County deputies
Monday were the toughest permitted under federal guidelines, but the
punishment hardly measures up to the damage done. During their lawless
run as members of the county's elite drug-enforcement team, these men
callously abused their power, inflicted pain on innocent people, and
seriously damaged the community's confidence in law enforcement. Even
the longest of the prison terms looks light.

Former Deputy Paul Maass got the maximum 63 months for tampering with
evidence, among other things. Former Sgt. Wayne Wyckoff received 27
months for tampering with evidence, and former Deputy Tommy Wooten was
handed 12 months for tampering with a witness and covering up for his
colleagues.

"I could not believe this happened in this day and age," federal Judge
James Whittemore said during the sentencing.

Indeed, when people began to complain three years ago that officers in
the much-praised Manatee Sheriff's Office were planting crack cocaine
on them and more, their stories seemed far-fetched.

But the tale grew worse as it unraveled. Some of the officers, the
public eventually learned, even got their kicks by stopping motorists
and robbing them.

Two more members of the anti-drug force -- Christopher Moore and Lance
Carpenter -- await sentencing, and a third, Christopher Wilson, remains
under federal investigation. Prosecutors have dropped more than 100
cases against 67 defendants as a result of the scandal, and the
Sheriff's Office is now fielding the first in what's likely to be a
series of lawsuits.

The department is offering to pay $275,000 to Sarah Smith, a Sarasota
resident who had no criminal record prior to her misfortune of crossing
paths with the Delta agents. They planted crack cocaine on her, and she
served 18 months in jail and under house arrest and lost custody of her
daughter.

"No one believed what I said," Smith recalled tearfully in a federal
courtroom in Tampa this week, "and I hadn't done anything wrong."

Those words should remain forever planted in the public's memory. The
Delta nightmare affirms, again, that none of us should be quick to
dismiss complaints of rogue cops.

Contrary to what we want to believe, abuse of police power can occur in
this day and age.