Each disclosure in the case of high school student Jordan Miles raises new alarms.

The first rang out because of Mr. Miles himself, a 150-pound, viola-playing honor student who hardly fit the profile of a street thug. Next were the photographs of his bruised and swollen face, the aftermath of his Jan. 12 encounter with three undercover Pittsburgh police officers who stopped him in Homewood near the home of his grandmother. Then Mr. Miles voluntarily underwent a two-hour polygraph test, which his attorney said showed he was telling the truth when he described his arrest.

Testimony during a hearing Thursday on charges of assault and resisting arrest filed against him add to the concerns. Since the beginning, police have said they stopped Mr. Miles because he was in a high-crime area late at night and seemed to be concealing something they suspected was a gun. Later, they said what they'd actually found in his pocket was a bottle of Mountain Dew, but no such item was taken into evidence.

Also troubling was testimony from a woman who lives near the scene of the incident. Despite a police report that quoted Monica Wooding as saying she did not know Mr. Miles, she testified that she said no such thing to officers and does in fact know the young man -- he and her son play basketball together.

Magisterial District Judge Oscar Petite Jr. said the evidence presented left him with no choice but to dismiss the charges against Mr. Miles. That was the latest twist in this case, but it hardly concludes the matter. Investigations by the city's Office of Municipal Investigation and the FBI are continuing.

As everyone knows, this episode has made headlines more because of police conduct than that of Jordan Miles. The three officers involved remain on paid leave. The sooner all of the questions are answered, the sooner decisions can be made about not only whether they acted properly, but also how all city officers should perform their duties so that citizens feel safe.

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