Saturday, November 04, 2006
The wrong side of the law
Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell must resign so that law-abiding deputies can begin the long and painful process of restoring the public's trust.
Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell plans to "carefully assess his ability to carry out his duties" now that he is under federal indictment for turning a blind eye to the alleged criminal activities of 12 of his deputies and obstructing the federal investigation. What's to think about?
Cassell's soul-searching should lead to just one conclusion: He must resign.
He is entitled to a presumption of innocence, but Henry County citizens are also entitled to have faith in the integrity of their sheriff's department. As long as Cassell remains, the department will operate under a cloud of suspicion. The shadow it casts will unfortunately fall upon the remaining 79 sworn officers who were not involved in the alleged crimes.
The sooner Cassell leaves, the sooner the department can begin the long and painful process of restoring its credibility with the public. Even if his defense eventually prevails, Cassell does his deputies and the public harm by staying on the job.
Cassell should harbor no illusions. The 48 counts are a scandalous indictment of sworn officers accused of violating the public's trust. U.S. Attorney John Brownlee called it "disgraceful corruption." If the allegations are proven, that description isn't nearly strong enough. Try despicable.
These officers of the law stand accused of crimes that would sink them to the lowest rung of the criminal inferno: buying date rape drugs (for what purpose, the indictment does not say); stealing drugs, money and weapons out of evidence; putting a machine gun on the streets; tipping off suspects and intimidating a witness.
If they committed such actions, not only did they fail to protect and serve the public, they made life more dangerous for citizens and their fellow officers who work diligently to uphold the law.
As the extent of this alleged criminal enterprise unfolds in federal court, Cassell's involvement, or lack thereof, will become clearer to the public, and the citizens of Henry County should withhold judgment until the charges are resolved.
However, that shouldn't prevent the public from pressuring Cassell to resign. Under the conditions of his bond, his ability to serve has already been crippled because he cannot carry a weapon.
His co-defendants are barred from duty, but Cassell as an elected official is granted constitutional protection. Basically, he gets to decide when to step down. Yesterday wouldn't have been soon enough.
