TASK FORCE'S VIEW ON DRUGS IS FIRSTHAND

Workdays begin in a cubbyhole office in the basement of the northwest
Dallas police substation.

The five of them crowd in. And amid the usual cop banter, they talk about
the people and places they will visit over the next eight hours. They know
many of the drug dealers in their territory by name. And if not, they
certainly know the houses, apartments and motels where they can be found.

I'm tagging along with the Northwest Narcotics Task Force on this 3-to-11
shift because of a recent column about drug reform. The officers read that
column. And they happen to have some thoughts of their own on the subject.

"The thing that bothered me was the naivete of the people in your column,"
said Officer Lisa Connaway. "I was struck by the line that said none of
them had been personally affected by drugs. I wish they could see what we
see every day."

Lots of stories

To be fair, I think reform advocates from the Drug Policy Forum of Texas do
understand the scourge of drugs. But it may be more intellectual than
gut-level.

The officers don't talk so much of policy alternatives. They talk in stories.
They tell of once-pretty young women prostituting themselves for the next
rock of crack cocaine. They talk about dentists and teachers and nurses
arrested outside drug houses and weeping at their own weaknesses.

They talk about - hold on to your stomach - the crack dealer with an
unusual inventory technique. "He would stand in front of a convenience
store with the rocks of crack in his mouth," said Officer Jim Walker. "When
we approached him, he would swallow them.

"Then we started watching him. And afterward, he would go behind the store,
gag himself, vomit up the drugs and go back to selling them."

I'll spare you the details of dealers who hide their drugs "down south" -
anatomically, not geographically.

The task force operates at the retail level, handling the "DH calls" that
have become so common for police - suspected drug houses. Patrol officers
don't have time to watch such houses. The task force does.

Stan Forney and Scott Shepherd are the two youngsters on the squad. They
dress in blue jeans and T-shirts and drive an old pickup - making
surveillance much easier.

Uniformed officers Connaway and Walker are always positioned nearby in a
squad car, ready to move in and help. Sgt. Charles Ledbetter, the
supervisor of the squad, floats nearby in another car. The task force is
usually able to quickly shut down a drug house simply by arresting buyers
as they leave.

Officer Connaway said she has seen dramatic changes in the seven years she
has worked on the task force. "When we started, people would come right up
to the car in some areas, showing you their drugs. You don't see that now,"
she said.

"We used to make five or six arrests a night. Now we make five or six a week."

The officers know they will never eradicate drugs. But they are sure that
laws and enforcement keep many, many people from ever trying drugs - and
falling victim to them.

Legalization not answer

While drug reformers tend to favor legalization, the officers say that
would increase use and solve few problems. "Even if you sold it at
Eckerd's, most addicts would still steal or prostitute themselves to buy it
there," Officer Walker said.

And Officer Forney said: "The black market is not going to disappear. The
dealers would just sell stronger drugs or cheaper drugs or target kids."

"These are bad people," Officer Connaway said. "They're not going to
suddenly go get jobs because drugs are legal."

In spite of a full moon, this turns out to be a quiet night. Only near the
end of the shift do the officers make an arrest. An 18-year-old is stopped
leaving a West Dallas drug house, and four packets of cocaine are found
inside his jacket pocket.

He goes to jail. And the 17-year-old and the 12-year-old riding with him
are shooed on home.

As I drive home, it's the baby face of the 12-year-old that keeps me
wishing for answers.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan