Dec 4, 2006 6:19 pm US/Central
More Cops Charged In Corruption Investigation
3 Officers Charged With Home Invasion, Official Misconduct
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley, Kristyn Hartman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Jerome Finnigan (pictured clockwise), Keith Herrera, Carl Suchocki, Thomas Sherry
CBS
Three more Chicago police officers were charged Monday with corruption, only three months after four rogue officers faced charges of using their badges to break into homes and rob them.
Thirty-eight-year-old
Frank Villareal and 32-year-old
Margaret Hopkins are charged with home invasion and official misconduct. Forty-year-old
James McGovern is charged only with official misconduct. The officers turned themselves Monday as part of an ongoing corruption investigation.
As CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports, a long-time police critic isn't surprised.
"Abusive Chicago police officers have been allowed to perpetuate abuse in Chicago with virtual absolute impunity," said
Craig Futterman, a law professor at the
University of Chicago.
Futterman has researched citizen complaints against Chicago police. He found most cops do a good job, but a small percentage cause big problems and there's no system in place to track them.
"Just 5 percent is responsible for the overwhelming majority of the abuse complaints. Two-hundred sixty-two officers have 11 or more complaints," Futterman said.
Officers
Jerome Finnigan, 43,
Keith Herrera, 28,
Thomas Sherry, 32, and
Carl Suchocki, 32, were arrested in September.
Bond was set in September in the millions for all four.
Prosecutors say the officers abused their authority to terrorize and steal from people. They say the men allegedly forced their way into homes of drug dealers and ordinary citizens. The officers allegedly took everything from drugs to guns and in come cases thousands of dollars in cash.
Prosecutors said there were numerous cases where the officers never showed up in court to testify, which allowed alleged drug dealers to go free.
Futterman says there were plenty of red flags about their behavior long before their arrests.
"Even with these special operations group guys, they have 50 or more complaints. They were never disciplined, identified, or flagged in any way," Futterman said.
In a statement,
Chicago Police Supt. Phil Cline said Monday's arrests "further illustrate the department's ongoing commitment to root out bad cops who violate the public's trust and the professional integrity of the Chicago Police Department. Since 2003, the department has remained committed and continues to be vigilant in identifying patterns of misconduct."
Pressure on the department to deal with corruption allegations has intensified. Cline pointedly said no one is above the law, and misconduct on any level will not be tolerated.
But Futterman insists even the worst cops know there's little oversight.
"Officers with 11 or more complaints know with 99 percent certainty nothing will happen to them due to citizen abuse complaints," Futterman said.
Cline has implicitly admitted oversight has been lax in the past but says new systems are being tested to identify troubling patterns of conduct.
Villareal and Hopkins are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. McGovern appeared in court Monday with his bond set at $50,000.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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