American Notes HOUSTON

Houston's Southeast Tactical Response Unit personified zeal and derring-do: the nine police officers smashed crack houses and nabbed drug dealers, racking up 500 arrests in two years. But last week prosecutors moved to throw out more than 100 pending cases, as all nine officers stood suspended for allegedly falsifying records, planting evidence and lying in court to win convictions.

"They were the New Centurions all over again," said District Attorney John Holmes. "They were frustrated at all the legal rules, so they cut corners." A Harris County grand jury is probing the scandal, but prosecution of the narcotics officers may be difficult because so many of their targets were case-hardened criminals. Ironically, a few of the dealers bagged by the unit and now in prison may be eligible for pardons.