This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #773)
Drug War Issues

Suspected dirty cops are under investigation in Texas and Alabama, a light-fingered (and well-connected) Philly cop gets suspended, a Texas cop gets in trouble for trying to set up the -ex, and an Indiana cop sells weed and guns to the wrong guy. Let's get to it:

[image:1 align:left]In Dallas, two Dallas police officers are under criminal investigation after a judge determined that they repeatedly perjured themselves in testimony they gave about a 2011 drug arrest. The two officers, Randolph Dillon and John Llewellyn, claimed they were sitting in their squad car when they saw Melvin Williams get into a vehicle and hand the driver something. They then arrested Williams and searched his apartment, then claimed in court that Williams told them there were more drugs and guns in the apartment. An apartment manager who witnessed the search testified that the drugs were actually found in the bushes outside. After listening to other witnesses, the judge ruled, "there is doubt as to whether any illicit drugs that were alleged to have been found belonged to Williams, as opposed to having been planted."

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force is under investigation by the FBI over its accounting practices. The probe began late last year, after discrepancies were found during a November audit. The previous task force commander, Captain Jeff Snyder of the Tuscaloosa Police, has been reassigned and a new commander named. The FBI has refused to comment on what it says is an ongoing investigation.

In Philadelphia, a Philadelphia police narcotics officer was suspended without pay last Friday for 30 days with the intent to fire him after that. Officer Gerold Gibson, the son-in-law of Gov. Tom Corbett (R), was suspended after an internal investigation that ended in a sting where he allegedly took $140 from a car wired with surveillance cameras. The investigation began last fall, when some of Gibson's colleagues voiced suspicions that he was stealing clothes, jewelry, and shoes from the homes of suspected drug dealers during raids.

In Madisonville, Texas, a Madisonville police officer was indicted Monday on charges that he planted drugs in his ex-wife's vehicle during a 2011 child custody dispute. Sgt. Jeffrey Covington is accused of planting methamphetamine in the vehicle, then informing a state trooper that the vehicle was carrying drugs. Covington's ex-wife was arrested by the trooper, who had no knowledge of the domestic dispute, but the charges were later dropped. Covington is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, obstruction or retaliation, and official oppression. He resigned last week and is free on a $5,500 bond.

In Hammond, Indiana, a former Gary police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to selling drugs and a gun to a felon. David Finley Jr. went down when the felon, who was a snitch for the FBI, made a deal with Finley to buy him a gun. He pleaded guilty to lying during the purchase of a gun, selling a gun to a known felon, and delivery of marijuana. He had additionally faced four more drug charges, but those were dropped when authorities discovered the drugs were actually lawful synthetic stimulants.

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