Whacked Again

[Pedro56]

Six CPD officers arrested
Special Ops cops charged in corruption

By Paul Meincke

December 4, 2006 - Six officers were arrested Monday on charges of corruption within the Chicago Police Department.

Five of the officers in question, who surrendered to police on Monday, will appear in court Tuesday. They all are accused being involved in alleged shakedowns, phony arrests and official misconduct. All are members of the department's Special Operations Unit.

Three of the officers -- Jerome Finnigan, Carl Suchocki, and Keith Herrera --were arrested on similar charges last fall. According to sources, the other officers are Margaret Hopkins, Frank Villareal and James McGovern. Details on the most recent charges have not been revealed.

In early September, Finnigan, Suchocki, and Herrera were charged with home invasion and armed violence -- among other charges -- for allegedly shaking down drug dealers and others who they believed would not file complaints.

Special Ops cops are involved citywide in drug arrests and weapons seizures. In November 2005, police seized guns and a stash of cocaine said to be worth nearly $15 million One of the key officers involved was Jerome Finnigan. The case was later dismissed because of the charges against Finnigan. Dozens of other cases involving the arrested Special Operations cops also had to be thrown out.

Police Superintendent Phil Cline issued a written statement: "Today's arrests further illustrate the department's ongoing commitment to root out bad cops&".

"Since 2003, the Department has remained committed and continues to be vigilant in identifying patterns of misconduct."

[BigDawg]

I would think if they were charged once and apparently found innocent you would still reasign them somewhere else. Maybe its just me, but why leave them in the same unit together?? Other than that I again reserve all judgement till all evidence is presented. Other than to say if they are guilty I hope they get the maximum penalty.

[Pedro56]

I would think if they were charged once and apparently found innocent you would still reasign them somewhere else. Maybe its just me, but why leave them in the same unit together?? Other than that I again reserve all judgement till all evidence is presented. Other than to say if they are guilty I hope they get the maximum penalty.

They werent found innocent, they were all stripped awaiting trial then new allegations were set forth and they were re arrested.

[Michelle]

I'd like to think there was still hope, but doesn't look good at all.

What a waste.

[HardNoseBull]

I hope the allegations are false and I will wait to reserve my opinion. I will say this any officer being found to "dirty" needs to punished to the full extent of the law. I deal with the worst of the worst everyday, and to me there is no crime worse than disgracing your uniform, your agency, your name, or your partners. Any dirty peace officer sickens me.

[keith720]

I hope the allegations are false and I will wait to reserve my opinion. I will say this any officer being found to "dirty" needs to punished to the full extent of the law. I deal with the worst of the worst everyday, and to me there is no crime worse than disgracing your uniform, your agency, your name, or your partners. Any dirty peace officer sickens me.

I agree 100%. The truly sad part is that the good officers of the department have to suffer because of things like this.

Pedro, even if you're a Flatlander, I feel for you.

[nitestokker]

Sounds like an episode of The Shield.

[BigDawg]

Makes one think they are guilty then doesn't it. Awaiting trial on one set of allegations and re-arrested on more of the same. Yes it looks bad on the Dept. and the rest of the officers but it also shows the community that the Dept is doing something to root it out.


I despise dirty cops.

[bak407]

This is just the kind of thing that gives FTL_Ian and his merry band of retards a big fat boner. And if they ARE guilty, it should.

[bird1]

[General Patten]

jeez...

[Coloradocop]

This is just the kind of thing that gives FTL_Ian and his merry band of retards a big fat boner. And if they ARE guilty, it should.

I was thinking the same thing. In fact, I was just thinking to myself "gee, I ought to go back to their site to find this article, and see how many times they've called us jack-booted pigs so far because of this".

I, of course, will reserve judgement on this one until the trial decides the facts. Still, if they are guilty, I say stick it to them... Dirty cops disgrace all of us alike. If they are innocent, hopefully this will all be cleared up.