Pubdate: Fri, 04 Aug 2000 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2000 The New York Times Company Contact: 229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 Fax: (212) 556-3622 Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/ Section: Letters Author: Charles D. Adler Note: The writer is chairman of the committee on criminal law, Association of the Bar of the City of New York. POLICING GONE ASTRAY To the Editor: Re "When Justice Leaves a Bitter Taste," by Clyde Haberman (NYC column, July 29): The grand jury was right to decide not to indict Anthony Vasquez, the undercover narcotics detective who shot Patrick M. Dorismond to death in March, but the outcome of the episode clearly was not. The reason is that the police operation, not the police officer, was wrong. Tragedies like this are the inevitable consequence of a policy so extreme that the police solicit ordinary citizens as they troll for drug busts. That should tell us how much we have lost our way. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart