A HEADACHE FOR HEGE

After years of silliness and self-promotion from Davidson County Sheriff
Gerald Hege, it was a little hard to take the latest bulletin about his
little kingdom seriously. But the news is no joke. When federal and state
authorities arrested his three top narcotics detectives last Wednesday, the
myth of Sheriff Hege and his merry men deflated like a Macy's balloon the
day after Thanksgiving.

Three Davidson County deputies, along with an Archdale police officer and a
civilian, are under federal indictment for conspiracy to sell large amounts
of cocaine, marijuana and other illicit drugs. The indictments cap an
eight-month federal and state investigation that came as a complete
surprise to Sheriff Hege.

This is not the first time that police officers have been arrested for
dealing in illegal drugs. The Greensboro Police Department has had its own
experience along that line. The work exposes officers, particularly
narcotics officers, to temptation. But that's the nature of any position of
trust. Police officers are expected to resist.

Of course, it's especially destructive when law enforcement officers slip
over the edge into crime, particularly drug peddling. Not only does it add
to the problem of drugs on the street, but it undercuts the authority of
the police and respect for all law enforcement.

Any number of previous drug prosecutions that involved these men are now in
doubt. Their testimony no longer carries any presumption of validity. How
can parents persuade their children to stay away from cocaine when it looks
like a game that even the police play?

Whether Sheriff Hege's preoccupation with the trappings of his office made
him less attentive to what his subordinates were up to is anybody's guess.
But you can't help but think that a sheriff who is obsessed with cartoon
cars, motorcycles, military trappings and tasteless greeting cards might be
a little distracted as a manager.

Had Hege been all business, you might be more inclined to say that gross
corruption of this sort could happen in any department.

As it is, there's the real possibility that the head man's inattention was
a factor.