This Week’s Corrupt Cops Stories (2014.01.22)

The stench grows in Philadelphia, a parole officer gets caught stealing parolee’s pills, a reserve cop tries to trade dope for sex, and jail guards continue to go wild. Let’s get to it:

In Philadelphia, seven police officers have been pulled from drug investigations amidst an ongoing corruption probe. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey confirmed Friday that the Philadelphia police Internal Affairs unit is working jointly with the FBI and federal prosecutors in the probe that has already seen one of the officers arrested and led to the dismissal of hundreds of drug charges. Although the officers were transferred out of narcotics in December 2012, it wasn’t officially acknowledged until Ramsey’s comments. Since then, the city and the department have also been sued 40 times in federal court, with some lawsuits alleging officers framed people with false evidence and testimony and others alleged police stole their property and roughed them up.

In Kalamazoo, Michigan, a Prairieville Township Police reserve officer was arrested last Wednesday on charges he solicited sex in exchange for drugs. Michael Strong, 37, went down after a tipster talked to authorities, and the Michigan State Police and Southwest Enforcement Team set up a sting. Strong was arrested after he met an undercover officer at a local hotel and offered drugs for sex. He is charged with one count of delivery of amphetamine and one count of felony firearms. The drugs reportedly came from “friends,” not the evidence room. He’s looking at up to seven years in state prison.

In Paris, Kentucky, a Bourbon County Regional Jail guard was arrested last Wednesday for smuggling drugs into the jail after state police raided his home and found narcotics. Officer Jimmy Billups, Jr., 45, came under suspicion during an investigation by the State Police. He is charged with conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. He was last reported on the other side of the bars at the neighboring Scott County Detention Center.

In Greenwich, New York, a state parole officer was arrested last Thursday on charges she took drugs from her parolees for her own use and falsified records to cover it up. Stacey Sullivan, 43, would find the drugs on her parolees, but instead of turning them in for parole violations, would keep and use them herself. She went down after colleagues saw her seizing drugs, but failing to log them in. She faces a felony count of falsifying business records and a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct. She has been released pending prosecution.

In Vidalia, Louisiana, a Concordia Parish jail guard was arrested last Thursday on charges he smuggled synthetic marijuana and cell phones into the jail. David Earl Bell, Jr., 23, went down after surveillance cameras caught “strange activity,” and the parish sheriff’s office investigated. He confessed when confronted by police. He is charged with introduction of contraband into a penal institute and malfeasance in office.

In Plainfield, Indiana, a Plainfield Correctional Facility jail guard was arrested last Friday after he got caught smuggling marijuana and tobacco into the jail inside a bowl of frozen food. James Thomas was carrying 69 grams of weed and a half-pound of tobacco when he got nailed. He is charged with trafficking and dealing in marijuana. He’s been suspended without pay and was last reported residing at the Hendricks County Jail.

In Washington, DC, a former Price Georges County (MD) officer pleaded guilty last Wednesday to providing law enforcement information to a drug trafficking group. Vanessa Edwards-Hamm was one of 17 people indicted in July 2013 in connection with a major DC trafficking ring that purveyed cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and prescription pills. She was indicted on one count each of tampering with documents or proceedings and unlawful notice of electronic surveillance, but copped to a single count of unlawfully disclosing information about a wiretap being used on a target of a law enforcement investigation. She’s looking at up to five years in the federal pen.

Article republished from Stop the Drug War under Creative Commons Licensing