HARD LESSONS IN DAVIDSON

The recent sentencing of four Piedmont law enforcement officers on such
charges as drug conspiracy and extortion brings to a close a disturbing but
illuminating chapter in North Carolina criminal lore.

It showed how a sheriff who touts himself as one of the best -- and has a
show on Court TV to prove it -- can be blind to criminal activity among his
own deputies.

And it showed how the huge amount of money involved in the illegal drug
trade can turn heads, even the heads of those charged with enforcing the
law. Corruption is not limited to big-city law enforcement agencies.
Unfortunately, it can wedge its way in almost anywhere.

Three of the officers involved in this ring worked in the Davidson County
Sheriff's Department in Lexington under the alternately famous or infamous
Gerald Hege. "This place used to be known for barbecue," Sheriff Hege once
told a reporter. "Now it's known for me."

The arrest and conviction of three of his officers has taken Hege's
braggadocio down a notch or two. Some of his most trusted officers betrayed
and lied to the sheriff, proof of how treacherous this situation was. It's
been said many times that power corrupts. In this case, the power to
investigate crimes, get search warrants and gather evidence -- including
large sums of cash -- corrupted three Davidson officers and one from Archdale.

The charges also prove how insidious the illicit drug trade is. The four
officers and two civilians were convicted of conspiring to distribute
marijuana -- the classic gateway drug -- as well as cocaine, Ecstasy and
anabolic steroids. They represent a broad range of drugs that have infested
our society -- a hard street drug, a club drug, a drug used by athletes. As
long as the demand for these drugs remains high, so will the list of people
willing to compromise their values to supply them for a high profit.

The 27-year sentence handed down to Lt. David Scott Woodall of the Davidson
department should prove that federal prosecutors and courts are serious
about ferreting out bad cops and punishing them for their crimes.

Perhaps that will help protect the many decent, honest law enforcement
officers in the region from being tainted by the Davidson County case. It
should also teach sheriffs and police chiefs everywhere to mind their own
shop. National adoration means nothing if your own officers have turned
criminal.