Pubdate: Thu, 04 Dec 2003
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2003 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117

SCRUTINIZING A SCANDAL: BOTH PROBES WARRANTED IN FAKE-DRUG CASE

In dueling press conferences this week, city and county officials both 
vowed to do what their federal counterparts have failed to do so far - get 
to the bottom of the fake-drug scandal. We are going to hold them to their 
word.

Dallas County District Attorney Bill Hill was smart to appoint defense 
lawyer Dan Hagood as a special prosecutor in the case. He is to determine 
if any state laws were broken that warrant indictment in state court. While 
describing former Dallas detective Mark Delapaz as his starting point, the 
one-time Dallas County prosecutor pledged to follow the investigation down 
whatever roads it leads.

Mr. Hagood can lay claim to an impressive resume, as well as to a 
reputation for integrity and independence. As for following roads wherever 
they lead, that is essential - even if some of those roads should happen to 
lead back to the district attorney's office itself. After all, the dozens 
of innocent people who were wrongly accused in the fake-drug scandal 
weren't just arrested but prosecuted. And all along, one of the nagging 
questions has been whether the office's command staff had figured out that 
something was amiss well before Jan. 16, 2002, when prosecutors began 
dismissing cases and letting people out of jail. This independent 
prosecutor must remain truly independent, and his findings must be made 
public. That is non-negotiable.

Over at City Hall, Mayor Laura Miller and other City Council members 
promised to come forward with more specifics tomorrow but told the public 
to expect an intensive internal investigation of police procedures with an 
eye toward determining how this all happened and who was responsible.

The city has a couple of options. It could leave it to Dallas City Attorney 
Madeleine Johnson to head the investigation. Or it could appoint an 
independent fact-finding panel in the style of the Christopher Commission, 
which investigated police procedures in Los Angeles a decade ago. Whatever 
its form, the city's investigation should take a hard look not just at the 
conduct of the recently acquitted Mr. Delapaz but also that of his 
supervisors in the chain of command. It also should delve into the issue of 
the field tests that determine if drugs are real and explain how it is that 
so many narcotics officers vouched for the authenticity of pounds of 
evidence that turned out to be bogus. All of this should be done quickly 
and transparently.

Ordinarily, competing investigations might only muddy the waters, but not 
in this case. Nearly two years after the fake-drug scandal first came to 
light, there still are plenty of questions. What we're short on are the 
answers.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom