Pubdate: Sun, 10 May 2009 Source: Fayetteville Observer (NC) Copyright: 2009 Fayetteville Observer Contact: http://www.fayobserver.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/150 BAD COPS. SHADY, LAW-BREAKING SHERIFFS. Despite the tenet that law officers need to hold themselves to higher standards, corruption stands as one of the oldest problems in law enforcement. "They are the final line, something that separates society from the bad guys. They are the protectors," said Dr. Hamid Kusha, an assistant professor in the Criminal Justice Department at East Carolina University. "The mandate of police is to serve and protect. Therefore, we look at police as good guys. We want them to have high ethical standards." Obviously, that's not always the case. In Spring Lake, an assortment of alleged misdeeds has turned the Police Department into an ineffectual force. Tuesday, Spring Lake Police Chief A.C. Brown resigned one day after the arrests of Sgt. Alfonzo Devone Whittington Jr. and Sgt. Darryl Eugene Coulter Sr., who were indicted last week by a special Cumberland County grand jury. The charges against Whittington and Coulter include embezzlement by public officer, obtaining property by false pretense, breaking and entering, second-degree kidnapping and obstruction of justice. Along with those indictments, the Police Department was stripped of its remaining police powers. But law enforcement misconduct spreads much further than Spring Lake. In the last three years, four sheriffs in this state have been convicted of breaking the very laws that they swore to uphold. In the past six years, five North Carolina sheriffs have faced serious charges. "Four is too many, and one is too many. It's very regrettable," said Eddie Caldwell, executive vice president of the N.C. Sheriffs' Association. But Caldwell questions whether more cases exist today than in the past. The immediacy of the news with breaking stories running around the clock on television and on the Internet produces a glut of information. Caldwell said some newspapers seem to thrive on the misdeeds of religious leaders, teachers and government officials. "Those stories get front-page coverage," he said. "There's much more transparency. Things that happened decades ago that did not get prosecuted or reported get fully prosecuted or reported today. If a government official gets a parking ticket, that's reported. That changes public opinion." The N.C. Attorney General's Office and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation have investigated more than 500 public corruption cases in the past eight years, according to Noelle Talley, spokeswoman for the state Department of Justice. Those cases include investigations of law enforcement officials, such as the sheriffs of Robeson, Davidson and Brunswick counties, and the Greensboro Police Department. In July 2008, Knightdale Police Chief Richard Nelson Pope stepped down after being charged with one count of assault on a female following a domestic dispute with his estranged wife. Early this year, Warren County sheriff's Deputy Cornelius Davis was charged with two counts of sexual battery after being accused of inappropriately touching women at two Raleigh stores. A few days later, on Jan. 7, Wilmington police officer Wotzvely Albert Perez was charged with assault and sexual battery while on duty. Kusha, the East Carolina University professor, has taught on police operations and the relationship between police and community since 1997. Police corruption, as he points out, is not a new issue. The problem dates back to colonial times. "The reason why we're seeing a lot of bad cops," he said, "we are concentrated on this issue. Policing in the United States is very much under checks and balances. In the past eight years or decade, we've had congressmen and people at top positions that corrupted them. Their action is being scrutinized. Maybe nobody gives a damn about ethics and laws anymore." Talley, the Justice Department spokeswoman, said it would be inappropriate for her office to answer questions regarding police misconduct because the SBI continues to handle the Spring Lake investigation. The SBI typically investigates cases involving law enforcement officers, which can range from involvement in a shooting to public corruption. The following former sheriffs have gone from serving the public to serving time: Former Sheriff Glenn Maynor was the highest-ranking lawman swept up in Operation Tarnished Badge, a six-year investigation into corruption in the Robeson County Sheriff's Office. Twenty-three people, mostly deputies, pleaded guilty to crimes that included kidnapping, money laundering, racketeering, theft of federal money and satellite piracy. In May 2008, former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford who had been the target of a two-year public corruption investigation was found guilty of accepting money to protect an illegal video poker ring. Former Brunswick County Sheriff Ronald Hewett was indicted on charges of embezzlement by a public official and obstruction of justice. In June 2008, his guilty plea to obstructing justice made him the second of the previous three Brunswick County sheriffs to trade in his badge for a felony conviction. Former Polk County Sheriff Chris Abril, who was elected despite being charged mid-race with raping two girls more than 20 years earlier, later pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Abril avoided jail time in November 2008 after accepting a plea bargain. Another former sheriff, Gerald Hege of Davidson County, was charged in September 2003 with 15 felonies and suspended from office. The charges included five counts of embezzlement by a public officer, five counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and two counts of obstruction of justice. Hege accepted a plea agreement and received suspended sentences, three years of probation and three months of house arrest. Kusha believes some police officers are just not up to the job. "If you look at the policing profession, there's a lot of stress. It's a very stressful job," he said. "Maybe the pay's not enough. 'I'm putting my life on the line, and what is it I'm getting?' Maybe we're not respecting the police as we should. It's very difficult to pinpoint. Maybe we're getting better at detecting police corruption." - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart