SHERIFF SHOULD STAY OUT OF PARDON ISSUE

It's not wrong, but it comes across as a little bit sleazy that Alamance
County's high sheriff would publicly support a pardon for a former cop who
broke the law and disgraced his oath to the public. Dean Ward was an
officer in the sheriff's department, and the Gibsonville and Graham police
departments over his 11-year career. He arrested a lot of people, and was
particularly zealous in his quest to shut down drug dealing. Likewise,
Sheriff Terry Johnson was an SBI agent who went after drug dealers, and won
election to his current office by pledging to continue the fight. We
applaud both men's efforts up to a point.

But Dean Ward crossed the line from legal to illegal when he began
eavesdropping on cell phone conversations of citizens without a judge's OK.
Gathering information from these conversations, Ward secured warrants for
arrest. His nefarious deeds were eventually uncovered, and he was indicted
by a federal grand jury on a baker's dozen charges related to having
wiretapping equipment and using it illegally. In the end, the former
narcotics officer was allowed to enter an Alford guilty plea on two counts.
His Alford plea is one of guilt without admitting any wrongdoing. His
punishment was three years of probation, a $5,000 fine, and 150 hours of
community service. Now Sheriff Johnson and one of his majors, Morris
McPherson, who was chief of police in Gibsonville, have signed letters of
support for Ward in a quest for a presidential pardon. Both lawmen are
friends of Ward's. In fact, McPherson acknowledged that Ward's mother, who
contributed $700 to Johnson's campaign for sheriff, approached him about
supporting her son. The sheriff characterized Ward now as a "model
citizen." McPherson praised Ward for donating turkeys to feed the hungry,
and footing the motel bill for a woman who was burned out of her house.
Good for him. We need more people who are willing to help other people. We
just wish some of that largesse had been extended to the people Ward
listened in on when he was an officer, sworn to uphold the law, or the
taxpayers who had to foot the bill for all the cases thrown out of court
because of his illegal actions. Hours of police investigative time, dozens
of officers going out on busts, magistrates writing warrants approved by
judges, and case preparation by the district attorney's office were all for
naught because Ward became a maverick, doing it his way rather than the
right way. Ward ended up doing a disservice. Everyone paid a price for his
actions, including himself. He stained his badge, paid the price, and
refused to admit he did anything wrong at all. Should he be pardoned? Well,
that question may fall into the lap of the nation's chief executive if the
sheriff has anything to do with it, and we think he shouldn't have anything
to do with it. In was ill-advised for Johnson to have anything to do with
this pardon business, whether he and Ward are friends or not. A true friend
wouldn't even put another friend in such a position. The sheriff, like any
other public official, must be as Caesar's wife, "without suspicion." But
we live in an Alice in Wonderland world sometimes. Johnson campaigned that
he could get the job of sheriff done without more personnel, just training
the people he had. Within six months of being sworn in, he asked for, and
got, approval for 41 new positions. That caused the tax rate to go up, and
his credibility to go down a notch. It all boils down to credibility and
common sense. Johnson certainly has the right to his opinion on a pardon
for his pal, but as high sheriff, he doesn't need to have his name attached
to Ward's plea for a pardon, especially when the request comes from a
campaign contributor. There is a certain "sleaze factor" to pardons anyway.
It's not worth it politically. That's why presidents usually only grant
them in the waning days of their administration. Johnson needs to stick to
the job of catching criminals, not getting them pardons.