by Eric Ture Muhammad

ATLANTA�The mid-December slaying of sheriff-elect Derwin Brown was so brutal it shocked residents of Dekalb County, Ga., where rumors of departmental corruption are common. He had run on a platform to clean up the department, which many believe led to his death. Others say his loss of life will fuel efforts to end corruption.

"Derwin Brown was a man of truth and integrity," said Daniel Buggs, who heads Winning Circle, a leading youth advocacy group in the county. Dekalb County has 600,000 residents and is 52 percent Black. Per capita income also makes the county�which includes some Atlanta suburbs�the fourth richest Black area in the country.

Mr. Brown "was a family man, a godly man with vision, who stood for what was right. And when you have these kinds of qualities about yourself in a political position, you set yourself up," Mr. Buggs lamented.

"But now it is time for us not to lay down, but to run with this torch," he declared.

While some want to rename a precinct after the man who was shot down in his driveway, there are also calls for erecting a monument to public safety workers killed in the line of duty. An emerging group of activists want to do more. They plan to closely watch special March 20 voting for sheriff and back a new candidate who enjoyed the support of Mr. Brown and shares his commitment to clean government.

"Dekalb County has a 20-year history of corruption," said resident Wendell Muhammad, who is also the Nation of Islam�s southern regional protocol director. Under a white sheriff, Pat Jarvis, who is now in prison, the department was one of the most corrupt ever, he said.

"You are dealing with an old and long pattern of corruption. And when Derwin Brown said he was going to audit those who are in business with the jails, it immediately sent up red flags among those who don�t want to be found out," Mr. Muhammad said.

Mr. Brown would have been sworn in Jan. 1, 2001, but was killed Dec. 15. No arrests have been made in connection with the murder. Mr. Brown had worked for the department for 22 years.

Last August, he defeated incumbent Sidney Dorsey in a runoff election. Just after his election, he sent notices to 38 jail employees, saying he planned to eliminate their jobs.

During the election, Mr. Dorsey denied charges of using deputies to work for his privately-owned security company on department time. He also denied having inmates do renovations and gardening at the homes of those who supported his wife, an Atlanta councilwoman. In addition, he was accused of nepotism for hiring his daughter as department spokesperson.

Various rumors had followed Mr. Dorsey since his first election in November 1996, when an arrest for domestic abuse and a one-time manslaughter charge surfaced.

Yet Mr. Dorsey was never indicted or subject to any outside investigation. He has also vigorously denied any part in the Brown murder, and any wrongdoing.

"Whether or not Brown�s murder had anything to do with his pledge to clean up the sheriff�s department, his reform agenda needs to be carried through. Dorsey left a system infected by cronyism, allegations of corruption and old-fashioned machine politics," commented Atlanta Journal and Constitution writer Cynthia Tucker in a Dec. 20 column.

Mr. Dorsey came to power in a special election to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff Pat Jarvis, who resigned under indictment. Last year, Mr. Jarvis was finally sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined $40,000, after he pleaded guilty to mail fraud. Prosecutors say Mr. Jarvis received more than $200,000 through bogus consulting fees from food vendors, bonding companies and maintenance firms with county jail contracts.

The Dekalb County sheriff, is not only the chief enforcement officer, but also oversees the county jail, issues summonses and provides the county�s court security. The sheriff also dispenses contracts for jail services, such as food suppliers, and laundry and janitorial work.

The sheriff controls 62 jobs at the county jail, other positions at the county court house and hires deputies.

Thomas Brown, a former public safety director, has been appointed interim sheriff. He is not related to Derwin Brown, and has not said whether he plans to run to keep the office. There is wide speculation that Robert Crowder, a former aide to Derwin Brown, will run for office with the backing of the slain sheriff�s widow, Phyllis.

Photo: Phyllis Brown, widow of slain Dekalb County Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown, is embraced by Stacie King, left, after a funeral service for her husband Dec. 21, in Decatur, Ga. Derwin Brown was gunned down in his driveway Dec. 15 as he returned home from a victory party.