DRUG USERS SHARE THE BLAME IN OFFICER'S DEATH

This is for anyone who even occasionally uses drugs and for the people
in their lives who - even if they disapprove - ultimately do nothing
to stop the drug use: You have blood on your hands.

At 6:14 p.m. Tuesday, three of Dallas' finest stood on one side of an
apartment door. On the other side were men in possession of a large
stash of marijuana and cocaine. The officers were there to serve an
unrelated felony warrant, but they had come across a drug house.

Four shots were fired through the door at the police, and one struck
Cpl. Norman Smith in the head, killing him.

Smith had been on the job for more than 12 hours Tuesday, protecting
and serving the people of Dallas. He had been doing just that for 18
years. The thug who started shooting apparently was trying to protect
an illegal drug business. In short, he was protecting your ability to
buy marijuana and cocaine.

Your life and the gunman's are intertwined. There's an easy-to-trace
line between a casual drug habit and the high-stakes drug wars fought
in the streets in neighborhoods you would never dare visit.

You, the student at a private university who smokes with your pals at
weekend parties. You, the Allen real estate agent who does a line of
cocaine to give yourself a boost before meeting a new client. You, the
Irving mother who hopes your daughter's occasional pot use and creepy
new friends is just a passing phase.

The drugs in your lives passed through an apartment just like this
one. They were bought and sold by men who would kill police officers
to protect the flow of drugs from far-off places to your hands.

This newspaper stands with the Smith family, the Dallas Police
Department and many others as they mourn the loss of a disciplined,
decent and dedicated man.

At 6:17 p.m. Tuesday, a call went out that an officer was down and
that two suspects were still on the other side of the door. Which side
are you on?