The Hillsborough County sheriff seems to be losing the leadership he needs to raise the ethical and professional standards of the Sheriff's Office staff.

There is nothing pleasant about seeing Cal Henderson lose his grip on the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. From the time the sheriff began his third term two years ago, few months have gone without another troubling episode calling his leadership into question. From the courthouse scandals, to the abusive prosecution in the Aisenberg case, to several disturbing shootings and now a whitewash of an internal misconduct probe, the signs are mounting that a leadership change would be helpful to the department. The sheriff should consider retiring when the seat comes up in 2004.

Henderson was elected in 1992 after being appointed the heir-apparent to then-Sheriff Walter Heinrich. His ascension as an insider was a time-honored tradition, and he brought to office not only law enforcement experience but powerful contacts in the community. These credentials gave Henderson strength to lead, and his popularity helped the Sheriff's Office meet the demands of a growing urban county. Under his tenure, the Sheriff's Office modernized its jail facilities, invested in new technology and equipment and drew national acclaim for its model community policing and domestic violence programs.

Henderson has elevated the profile of law enforcement, but his presence is now a drag on an office in need of reform. Consider the record the past two years:

-- Two sheriff's officers assigned to work at the courthouse campaigned for Henderson on county time. One, a bailiff, earned a 10-day suspension for having a sexual affair with a judge. But her boss -- the sheriff's go-to man at the courthouse -- was given only a slap on the wrist. The disparity in discipline wasn't the only problem; Henderson's office was too involved in several personal and political disputes at the courthouse, and the sheriff moved too slow to limit the fallout.

-- The two lead sheriff's detectives in the Aisenberg missing-baby case, Linda Burton and William Blake, whose misconduct largely caused the case to collapse, received only nominal reprimands, even after their work was blasted by a federal judge and a special prosecutor. The judge said the detectives made up evidence, while the prosecutor called the electronic bugging of the Aisenbergs "reckless" and "doomed to failure." The case exposed a number of failures by high sheriff's officials, yet Henderson failed to hold anyone seriously accountable for mishandling one of the most intrusive procedures authorities can perform.

-- Henderson's first reaction was to shrug when a politically connected member of his staff embarrassed the office by taking a junket to Texas. There was no reason for Maj. Rocky Rodriguez to tag along on an already-larded up staff trip to Texas, and the group's side-trip to a Mississippi casino-resort raises additional ethical questions. Yet Henderson chose not to order an internal affairs investigation, even as details of the story changed. Henderson later said he reprimanded Rodriguez, but a formal probe, had the sheriff not balked, could have brought out the fuller story. The issue here was candor, not just Rodriguez's behavior, and the sheriff's inaction only adds to the picture of the buddy system at work.

A new sheriff could size-up the office's weak spots, work to end the public relations mistakes and advance a broad agenda to raise ethical and professional standards. He or she also needs to reassert authority, and make clear to the senior commanders that higher conduct codes will be enforced. It was disappointing that Henderson, a forward thinker on crime and social problems all his career, did not take the lead after several recent police shootings to announce a commitment to more vigorously pursue nonlethal tactics. That would have been a clear sign that a sheriff who served well had more to offer. Now it's a question for 2004.

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