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Did you catch this editorial posted this morning?

http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsedits/56-756593.html

Chalmers is right to investigate slur

The Herald-Sun
Jul 30, 2006

Last week, the Raleigh Police charged two Durham officers with assaulting a cook outside of a Raleigh restaurant. Whether guilty or not, the fact that the officers put themselves in position to be charged with such a crime is one big embarrassment for Durham and the department.

The officers, Gary Powell Lee, 38, and Scott Christian Tanner, 33, have both been charged with simple assault, which carries a maximum 30-day jail sentence and a $1,000 fine. They are accused of beating Rene Dennis Thomas, a cook at Blinco's Sports Bar on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh.

Lee, a member of the department's Special Operations Division, is accused of striking Thomas and causing him to fall to the ground. Tanner, a motorcycle officer in the department's Traffic Services Unit, allegedly kicked Thomas in the head.

Three other officers initially named in the case and restricted to administrative duties -- Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, Officer Richard Clayton and Officer James Griffin -- were allowed to resume their regular duties last week, although they haven't been entirely cleared in this matter.

The altercation apparently started after an exchange of racial epithets. Thomas, who was in the rear restaurant, said he was called the N-word by one of the officers leaving a going-away party for a departing officer. Thomas admits he responded by calling the offending officer a cracker.

Neither the accused nor the accuser has anything of which to be proud in that exchange. However, law enforcement officials are held to higher standards than ordinary citizens are, as they should be.

If one of the officers is found to have hurled a racial slur at Thomas, it is difficult to see how he could continue on the job in a town that places such a high value on racial diversity. Such behavior erodes the public's confidence in the department. It also tears down trust in predominant black neighborhoods, and especially in those where the residents don't feel they get a fair shake from the police.

Police Chief Steve Chalmers, who is black, has said the department doesn't take racial slurs lightly, and it should not.

"The alleged conduct is something that is certainly deplorable to us, and something we don't want to be consistent in the way we operate and conduct ourselves," Chalmers said. "The entire allegation is disturbing."

Disturbing is the right word. And we again urge law enforcement officials in Durham and Raleigh to continue to investigate this matter thoroughly and share the findings with the public. It's a matter of trust.

Three other officers initially named in the case and restricted to administrative duties -- Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, Officer Richard Clayton and Officer James Griffin -- were allowed to resume their regular duties last week, although they haven't been entirely cleared in this matter.