FOUR OFFICERS NOT A REFLECTION ON ALL OFFICERS

Thursday's edition of The Dispatch offered a striking contrast of law
enforcement.

The story across the top of the newspaper dealt with the detention hearing
of six people, including three Davidson County sheriff's deputies and an
Archdale police officer, accused of selling drugs. Below that story was a
picture of a Highway Patrol trooper shopping with a child during the
patrol's "Give a Kid a Christmas" program, which takes place each year.

Perhaps one of the most unfortunate consequences of the charges against the
officers is the damage it does to those in the law enforcement profession,
and to the Davidson County Sheriff's Office in particular.

Police corruption is nothing new, of course, but most often when we read
about such cases it involves big cities like New York or Los Angeles. When
only one officer is involved, one can rationalize that any organization can
have a bad apple, despite the best supervisory efforts. One thing that
makes the Davidson County case so troublesome is that the allegations
involve three members of the sheriff's office's vice and narcotics unit. If
proven, the charges would show this was much more than just one loose cannon.

One of the prosecutors at Wednesday's hearing indicated the officers could
be charged with violating the Hobbs Act, which means they abused their
authority in committing the alleged offenses. The federal magistrate judge
who presided at the hearing seemed particularly concerned with this charge.
He voiced the betrayal that many people feel due to these accusations.

While the sheriff's office has suffered because of the alleged actions of a
small number of officers, all of us need to remember the department is
filled with dedicated professionals who take their job seriously. They work
to keep crimes from happening, and then try to solve them when they do.
These officers include school resource officers who keep our schools safe,
those who teach DARE classes to elementary-school students, detectives who
tackle theft rings and other serious felonies, and the line officers who
patrol our highways and offer a visible deterrent to criminals.

Many officers in the sheriff's office and other law enforcement agencies go
beyond their regular job responsibilities, too, as Trooper B.E. Hower
showed in the picture as he helped a child spend his $200 at Wal-Mart. Much
of the money to buy the children the toys came from the troopers.

The view of law enforcement and public safety employees in this country
changed following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The nation realized just
how heroic these dedicated professionals are. Most of us don't start our
work day not knowing whether we'll make it through the end of our shift, as
these people do.

Sadly, the misguided actions of a few can erode that good will. We all need
to remember they are the exception, rather than the norm, when it comes to
law enforcement officers.