EX-OFFICERS' ACTIONS RESULT IN LAWSUIT

GREENSBORO - One of more than 30 defendants who had charges against them
dismissed because of the federal indictments against three Davidson County
narcotics officers has filed suit against Sheriff Gerald Hege, two deputies
and the county.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, appears to be the
first resulting from the legal problems of former deputies Scott Woodall,
Doug Westmoreland and Billy Rankin.

County officials worry that more lawsuits will follow.

Salisbury resident Richard Hailey Jr. alleges in the new lawsuit that
deputies in several vehicles stopped him at a truck stop on Interstate 85
on Aug. 2, 2001, after he became uncomfortable and tried to leave a meeting
set up by a sheriff's office informant for a drug buy.

Hailey, 22, represented by Greensboro lawyer Romallus O. Murphy, alleges
that Westmoreland beat him up, causing injuries requiring hospital
treatment and leaving him physically scarred, and that Anthony Dale Porter,
a second deputy, did nothing to stop the beating.

He alleges that deputies searched and tore apart his vehicle and "left the
vehicle in its torn condition."

And he alleges that Westmoreland and Porter, "with malice and corruption,"
charged him falsely with assaulting them as government officers and
possessing cocaine.

"At the time the officers advanced the false charges, they knew the same
were not true but conspired to tell falsehoods to justify the illegal acts
they were engaged in," the lawsuit contends.

The lawsuit further accuses Sheriff Hege of "deliberate indifference, gross
negligence and/or reckless disregard" for Hailey's safety, security and
constitutional and statutory rights.

The suit contends that Hege failed to adequately train and control his
officers "in the law of arrest, search and seizures and treatment of
citizens," failed to establish a policy for treating arrested suspects, and
condoned and encouraged his officers "in the improper use of excessive
force toward members of the public."

The action seeks more than $10,000 in compensatory and punitive damages for
malicious prosecution and violation of Hailey's Fourth and 14th Amendment
protections against unreasonable search and seizure and against arrest
without probable cause.

The sheriff's office referred questions about the lawsuit to County
Attorney Stephen "Bit" Holton.

Holton said he was not ready to comment on the substance of the action.

"I'm investigating the allegations," Holton said. "I've got a lot of people
I've got to meet with on this one."

This past December, a federal grand jury indicted Woodall, Westmoreland,
Rankin, Archdale police Sgt. Christopher Shetley and two Lexington area
residents, Marco Aurelio Acosta-Soza and Wyatt Kepley, on charges of
conspiring to distribute cocaine, marijuana, steroids and Ecstasy.

Federal court documents also accused the law enforcement officers of
abusing their authority in one or more ways, including writing fake search
warrants, planting evidence and fabricating charges, keeping drugs and
money seized during arrests, attempting to extort more money from the
people arrested, and intimidating suspects and potential witnesses.

The officers have all resigned or been fired. All six defendants have
entered guilty pleas and await sentencing.

First Lt. Woodall headed the narcotics unit for the sheriff's office. Lt.
Westmoreland and Sgt. Rankin were two of his top officers. And Acosta-Soza,
according to federal court documents, served as their informant.

After the federal indictments, District Attorney Garry Frank dismissed a
total of about 70 state felony and misdemeanor charges against more than 30
defendants who were arrested by the charged officers. Hailey is one of
those defendants.

The sheriff's office filed a series of charges against Hailey in the Aug.
2, 2001, incident - resisting a public officer, failure to heed light or
siren, assault on a government official, possession of 0.4 grams of
cocaine, possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine, and maintaining
a place - a 2000 Ford Explorer - for keeping and selling a controlled
substance.

Warrants charged Hailey with striking Westmoreland on the arm and Porter on
the arm and the shoulder.

Hailey's lawsuit, however, maintains that "plaintiff did not assault any
officer and did not possess any drugs."

On Nov. 26, a county grand jury indicted Hailey on two counts of assault on
a government official and one count of possession of cocaine. The
indictments listed Porter as a witness to the grand jury on the charges.
The district attorney's office dismissed the other charges against Hailey.

On Dec. 19, citing "unavailability of witnesses," Frank dismissed the three
charges issued by the grand jury against Hailey. That action came eight
days after the arrest of Woodall, Westmoreland and Rankin by federal and
state agents.