COP CLEANUP

Turning Corner On Trust Becomes More Challenging

The federal indictments handed down Thursday against 17 Detroit police
officers were yet another slam for the beleaguered Police Department,
already reeling from two federal consent decrees, plus the whole mayoral
security mess. That scandal got a touch of Hollywood this week after Mayor
Kwame Kilpatrick's security chief was accused of taking Queen Latifah to an
illegal after-hours club, with patrol officers guarding their cars. He has
been reassigned.

Just last week, Police Chief Jerry Oliver said the department's darkest days
were behind it, once the consent decrees had been issued. Clearly he was
overly optimistic.

The latest indictments -- which allege that the 17 officers illegally
searched and took money, drugs and guns from dealers and prostitutes --
would be easy for cynics to dismiss as bad people stealing from bad people.
But they're hardly new ground. Three other officers were sentenced on
similar charges last year.

No one on the force -- which is filled with good people -- can afford to be
cavalier if the department is to regain the trust of the people it is
assigned to protect. Good cops can't be effective at keeping the streets
safe if citizens remain wary.

The continuing tension between Oliver and the union, which this week began
radio ads questioning the chief's integrity, doesn't help. Settling the
long-expired contracts would, but that will require a lot of give from both
the recalcitrant union and the sometimes imperious chief.

Still, the consent decree gives Oliver the hammer to push through some
necessary reforms, and the indictments, if they prove true, can help clean
house. Fundamentally, though, the department must adopt good practices and
make sure each and every officer adheres to them. That's the best way to
keep the force clean even when a few members turn dirty.