Sending The Wrong Message

In the wake of the senseless killing of a brave Detroit police officer and amid accusations that members of the DPD Gang Squad terrorized a westside neighborhood, a Wayne County judge had a great opportunity recently to send a message about how much Detroit should value good law enforcement.

A former Detroit cop named Lashaud Welcome had been found guilty of framing a motorist on drug and gun charges, conspiring with a partner to set up the motorist and subsequently turning the innocent man's life inside out in the process. A police camera had caught Welcome in the act. The former officer and his partner had confessed. And the prosecutor in the case had explained how the city, especially at a time like this, cannot afford to have dirty cops further sullying image of the city's police department.

"There's a reason for the lack of respect" for cops on the street, Dawson said. "Mr. Welcome here affects every officer out there doing his job."

And the judge, who called the frame up "outrageous" and "inexplicable," certainly seemed to agree. But when time came to administer a punishment appropriate to the crime, the judge balked.

Welcome got three months probation.

That, in my opinion, is exactly the message we don't need to send.

I don't mean to come off like some strict law-and-order type, because I do think there's plenty to be said for institutional leniency. And I don't mean to act as though I don't appreciate how tough cops have it on this city's streets.

But that's also why I'm disturbed that Welcome's punishment seems so insignificant given the crime. We're talking about a police officer here, a man sworn (not to mention paid) to uphold the law. This ain't no sludge hauler.

When Officer Brain Huff was felled, the city rightfully, collectively mourned. Huff represented our line of defense against criminals running amok, and he was needlessly gunned down. He deserves every flower, every tear, every cry of outrage and sadness. We cannot thank men and women like him enough for their sacrifices.

But on the flip side, we should also have little tolerance for the officers like Welcome, who denigrate that image, who violate the trust implicit in their standing in our community. When you've got the power to send people to jail for a long time and you abuse that power, you should pay dearly when you're caught.

And in a city where average Joes get locked up regularly for even petty offenses, I have a tough time seeing how you engender faith in the criminal justice system — or our officers — by allowing a crooked cop to skate by with probation after he admits to presenting an innocent man as a drug-using gunslinger. A badge isn't a license to commit crimes, and judges shouldn't make it seem like a "get out of jail free" card either, though too often they do.

Dirty cops who plant guns and drugs on innocents are a reality in Detroit — as are devoted officers like Brian Huff.

Men like Huff should be praised, honored and supported in any way we can think of. He's a hero.

But villains like Welcome need to be run off our police forces with the quickness, like so many foxes lurking in a hen house.

First, though, they should go to jail.