NWA editorial: Feeling violated

Holding position of trust no guarantee

It is unnerving, to say the least, when someone charged with meeting the needs of a community ends up being one of the people the community needs protection from.

Plenty of public servants go to work every day, earnestly committed to performing their duties with honor. Too often, evidence reveals some of these public servants are all too human. By that, we mean flawed. And by that, we mean they make a wrong decision when faced with temptation.

What’s the point?

Law enforcement agencies sometime have to look within when it comes to efforts to protect the public.

We're talking about the county or city employee who devotes himself to stealing the public's money, and gets away with it for a while because he's in a position of trust. Others don't want to acknowledge when someone once trusted has betrayed that trust.

Or a mayor, county judge or state official who brokered deals in the public's name that, it turns out, accrued to their personal benefit.

There is a special disappointment, though, when a member of our law enforcement community is revealed to be a breaker of laws rather than an enforcer of them.

The Bella Vista Police Department is in the midst of a situation that, if it proves true, demonstrates again that holding a badge and gun does not make one immune to the frailties of the human condition.

Clayton John Roberts was fired early this year as a detective after, according to Benton County investigators, he admitted to stealing medications from his department's evidence room and its drug take-back bin, where residents are supposed to be able to dispose of outdated or unused prescription drugs safely and securely. Roberts blamed an addiction to drugs as a driving force for his actions. He was recently arrested in connection with seven counts of controlled substances fraudulent practices and seven counts -- four felony and three misdemeanor -- of tampering with physical evidence.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that police are human, too.

Perhaps, too, the situation can be a lesson for all law enforcement agencies. Having strong procedures for securing evidence isn't just about the chain of custody for trial. It's also about protecting those who work with that evidence. That a detective could make off with seized drugs reflects not just on him, but on the security of the agency and its capacity to keep residents safe.

Drug take-back bins should be a source of comfort for those conscientious enough to dispose of old or unused prescriptions. They're supposed to be secure. And yet, according to Benton County investigators, Roberts was able to stop by the Bella Vista department on weekends to comb through the bin for his fix.

Now, the prosecution of other drug cases may be threatened because Roberts' actions demonstrate a high potential that evidence has been illegally accessed. Any defense attorney will make hay with that development.

It's unfortunate, but law enforcement agencies must factor in the truth -- that internal practices and policies must assume any chink in the armor may be exploited. Even by one of their very own.

Commentary on 01/19/2018

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