'Sheetrock Scandal' Hits Dallas Police. Cases Dropped, Officers Probed When 'Cocaine' Turns Out Fake

Washington Post ^ | January 19, 2002 | Paul Duggan

[John Jorsett]

DALLAS -- After Jose Luis Vega was charged with possessing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine in August, several of his relatives sought help from lawyer Cynthia Barbare. They insisted that Vega, an auto mechanic, was an honest, hard-working family man who must have been framed.

It wasn't the first time one of Barbare's clients claimed to be innocent. In 11 years as a defense attorney, representing scores of drug defendants, "I hear that kind of thing a lot," she said.

[sinkspur]

Dallas has an affirmative action police chief, promoted from Sgt. to Chief over 100 other more qualified candidates.

He has already cost the city $6 million for illegally firing division captains, and he is now watching the credibility of the entire department crumble over this humiliating episode.

The City Council will never ask for his resignation because it is majority minority.

Nobody moves to the city of Dallas; someone might work in Dallas, but the smart ones live somewhere else.

[Tacis]

Of course, yesterday, Dallas voters passed a 1.3 $billion school bond issue. A portion of this money may actually be spent on schools. But, if you are a slick, fast talking, ultra-liberal, fast talking extreme leftist hustler, you certainly should be able to get your share. The school board is even more racsst than the city council, so blacks and hispanics get preference. Much of the money will probably go to marginal minority teachers to increase their salaries without forcing them to do anything about their lack of capability. Since Dallas won't get any of the Olympics bribe/graft money, this bond issue will help to compensate public officials for that.

[hoot2]

so sad. n can't do anything about it....
it could cost someone their job, being "a racist",
can't speak the truth without fear...

[steve50]

This stuff tested positive in the field. I guess the police have an alternative source of funds.

[John Jorsett]

You'd think that when the cops are jacking up members of that 'majority minority' the politicians would be more amenable to correcting the situation. Especially when it's going to cost the city big bucks to pay for the lawsuits that result. The payouts for the Los Angeles Ramparts scandal are enormous.

[monday]

Just some innocent victims of the war on drugs. So what else is new?

[John Jorsett]

This stuff tested positive in the field. I guess the police have an alternative source of funds.

If you mean they sold the drugs and substituted gypsum, I don't think so. Based on the many cases that were uncovered, it sounds like these guys were padding their arrest numbers and trying to look like heros for getting tons of drugs off the streets. They targeted poor, non-English-speaking immigants so that they'd fold without a fight. What astounds me is that they thought they could get away with it for any length of time. They must have known that eventually somebody was going to ask for a lab test.

[sinkspur]

The Dallas school board may be a disaster, but Mike Moses, former Texas Education Commissioner, has been Superintendent of Dallas Schools for the last year.

Test scores have improved, the discord on the board has subsided, there have been no untoward problems in the schools, and the approval of the $1.3 billion school bond election was the first approved by Dallas voters in ten years.

Even a racist like Hollis Brashear (School board member) says that Mike Moses has been a godsend to the DISD.

[cinciphil]

I think your opinion is on the mark.

[eno_]

OSHA should bust these cops. Snorting Sheetrock can kill you.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

Bump List

[FreePaul]

This stuff tested positive in the field.

Someone said that it tested positive in the field. Can you trust anyone involved in this?

[HiTech RedNeck]

The breadth of the conspiracy which would be needed to do this across dozens of police officers, is virtually impossible to believe. A handful of "planters" maybe, but dozens? Occam's Razor argues the likelihood that someone got into the evidence room and did a switcheroo, then later on someone got even bolder and started planting (and it might have actually been real cocaine that got planted).

[John Jorsett]

I don't think there were dozens of officers involved. As I read the story, two detectives made a number of arrests in which the 'cocaine' turned out to be gypsum. My guess is that they manufactured the 'evidence' and counted on plea bargaining to keep it away from a real lab.

[steve50]

Two options here, both are bad. Either the cops are selling it themselves, or a paid "informant" is setting up innocent people to avoid giving up his dealing buddies. Either way exposes the stupidity and corruption of this WOD.