Facing drug charges can be a life-altering matter because of the serious consequences associated with a criminal conviction. But when you add cops who are possibly unethical into the scenario, the situation can get complicated. Chicago residents have likely heard about the case of the three police officers who were recently arrested on drug charges.
The three officers were members of the Schaumburg Police Department’s tactical unit. The trio was allegedly videotaped stealing $20,000 from a storage locker. Federal authorities arrested them in mid-January. The officer who was released on bond faces a drug trafficking charge for his participation in operating the alleged drug ring.
Some other individuals who were facing drug charges may have their charges dropped if these three allegedly corrupt officers were involved in the case. A prosecutor in nearby Kane County said he was dropping a 2011 drug case in which one of the three accused officers was an investigator. Cook County prosecutors stated that approximately 15 cases could be dismissed because any of the three arrested officers could have been involved in the investigations.
Police officers are expected to be officers of the law and not violators of the law. When they violate that public trust, any decisions they made performing their official duties should be questioned. Officers running their own drug rings should not be trusted to make drug arrests against other people.
Source: Chicago Tribune, “Another ex-Schaumburg cop accused in drug ring is out on bail,” Clifford Ward, Feb. 5, 2013
