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Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #503)
Drug War Issues

Cops planting drugs, cops stealing drugs, cops stealing and doing drugs, cops stealing drugs and money -- just another week of drug prohibition-related corruption. Let's get to it:

In Milwaukee, an apparent rogue cop is accused of beating or planting drugs -- or both -- on at least 10 people, but has so far gone unpunished by the Milwaukee Police Department, even though the courts have taken note of the repeated allegations by people he has arrested. Sgt. Jason Mucha has been repeatedly cleared by the department's internal affairs unit, but at least four Wisconsin judges have acted on accusations against Mucha by defendants he arrested, in one case allowing others with similar allegations to testify and in another stating there was no reason Mucha should be considered more reliable than the defendant. In at least four cases involving the allegations, charges have been reduced or dismissed, but the Milwaukee Police Department promoted him nonetheless, leading to a rising outcry for reforms within the department and for a definitive investigation of the allegations against the one-time member of the "Night Train," a Milwaukee police unit routinely accused of excess and brutality by residents of the poor and minority neighborhoods in which it operated.

In Baltimore, a Maryland Transportation Authority Police officer was indicted along with her boyfriend on September 21 on charges they dealt crack cocaine from the Curtis Bay home they shared. Officer Angela Green, 25, and her boyfriend were both charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. The indictment comes three weeks after county police raided the home, finding 29 grams of crack in two safes. Green, who has three years with the Transportation Authority Police, is now suspended without pay pending trial.

In Dearborn Heights, Michigan, a now-former Dearborn police officer has been charged with using a controlled substance. Former officer Edward Sanchez, 30, admitted taking marijuana from suspects and baking it into brownies, which he shared with his wife, who was also charged. He achieved internet infamy last year when a tape of a 911 emergency call he made after eating the brownies began circulating. In it, Sanchez could be heard saying: "I think we're dying. We made brownies and I think we're dead, I really do." The city of Dearborn declined to prosecute, but neighboring Dearborn Heights decided to go after the couple earlier this month. They face up to 90 days in jail.

In South Bend, Indiana, a former South Bend police officer has pleaded guilty in a case where he stole drugs and money during a traffic stop. Former officer Haven Freeman, 31, pleaded to one count of using his official position to unlawfully demand property from a person and also to possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Freeman admitted in court that he stopped a vehicle in the summer of 2005 knowing that it was carrying drugs because of information from an informant. He told the vehicle's occupants that if they gave him their drugs and money, he would not arrest them or separate one of them from her child. He obtained several thousand dollars in cash and about 100 grams of heroin, which he turned over to his informant for resale. Now, Freeman faces up to 40 years in prison, but has been promised a more lenient sentence because he "accepted responsibility" with his guilty plea.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Anonymous (not verified)

Y'all missed the jail guard in Albuquerque that got busted a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.krqe.com/Global/story.asp?S=7110954&nav=menu588_2_5_2

MDC corrections officer faces charges of trafficking and possession

Sep 21, 2007 01:48 PM

(Albuquerque, NM) - Twenty-six year old corrections officer Joel Butler is spending more time at work than he planned, but this time on the other side of the bars.

Joel Butler also faces charges of trafficking and possession of a controlled substance, and conspiracy to bring contraband into a correctional facility.

A sting last night netted Butler who has a list of charges that include conspiracy to bring heroin into the metropolitan detention center.

Metro Detention Center (MDC) staff notified the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office (BCSO) after they suspected Butler was up to something.

In a shopping center at Coors and Montano just after one in the afternoon yesterday undercover BCSO detectives met Butler. They conducted a "reversal operation" and according to the criminal complaint, "Butler was to collect heroin, a pack of cigarettes, and take the items into MDC for inmates". Detectives added "Butler will be paid six hundred dollars for the transaction". He told officers the drugs were for a specific prisoner.

After the hand to hand exchange detectives placed Butler under arrest. Director of MDC Ron Torres says he credits his staff with alerting law enforcement to anything suspicious, and says a confidential informant gave them the information. "We have an internal affairs unit and we continuously field tips that are credible, in this case info came across our field unit and we looked into it and found it to be very credible." said Torres.

Torres says Butler is still at MDC and was placed in protective custody.

Reporter: Annie McCormick | Web Producer: Paulette Mastio

Fri, 09/28/2007 - 5:32pm Permalink

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