DRUG WAR TOUGH ON AVERAGE CITIZENS

San Bernardino County sheriff's narcotics officer Hank Jackson doesn't
get it.

He says, "The general population is kind of against the seizure
process" of drug-trafficking assets (June 26 Daily Bulletin). Not
true. The general public wants drug trafficking stopped, and
punishment fairly meted out to those guilty of it.

What the general public is afraid of is a police process run amok,
with the property of innocent people taken, for example, because a
$100 bill in their pocket, tainted with traces of cocaine by a
previous holder of the bill provides law enforcement agencies the
reason to seize assets.

Horror stories abound of such seizures by overzealous officers whose
judgment is colored by the prospect of a treasure trove of cash and
assets to add to their department's bank account. Further, the
public's concern for corruption with many millions of dollars at stake
has not been calmed by such stories (read Rampart Division).

The more restrictive laws are passed in attempts to ensure innocent
citizens are not ensnared by unscrupulous officers. This is not to say
all narcotics officers are to be looked upon with derision; we know
that the large majority are honest, hard-working people who are
committed to their careers and communities. But the public needs to be
protected from those few who flaunt the power previous laws had given
them.

GREGG K. KNOWLES

Rancho Cucamonga