[url]http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/932560/posts?page=1[/url]

Seventeen Detroit Police officers have been indicted on federal charges ranging from looting money from drug dealers and
prostitutes to possession of stolen firearms.

The indictments were announced today by U.S. Attorney Jeffrey G. Collins. Named in the 21-page indictment are:

* William Melendez, 34, of Livonia, of the 4th (Fort-Green) Precinct, also known as Robocop

* Matthew Zani, 36, of Detroit, of the narcotics special enforcement section, also known as Spike

* Jeffrey Weiss, 32, of Dearborn, of the 4th Precinct, also known as Joker

* Troy Bradley, 36, Detroit, of the 4th Precinct

* Christopher Ruiz, 29, now of Tampa, Fla., of the narcotics special enforcement section

* Timothy Gilbert, 28, Detroit, of the 4th Precinct

* Mark Diaz, 28, Detroit, of the 3rd (Vernor) Precinct

* Jerrod Willis, 32, of Southgate, of the 4th Precinct

* Chris Guinn, 39, of Detroit, of the 4th Precinct

* Thomas Turkaly, 38, of Warren, of narcotics special enforcement section

* Ricardo Villarruel, 34, of Detroit, of the 4th Precinct

* John McLeod, 25, of Lincoln Park;

* Denny Borg, 31, of Woodhaven, of the 4th Precinct

* James Coss, 30 of Detroit, of the 4th Precinct

* Stephen Petroff, 31, of Dearborn, of the 4th Precinct

* Nicole Rich, 24, of St. Clair Shores

* John Watkins, of the 4th Precinct

All 17 were indicted on one count of conspiracy against rights, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine. Eight officers were charged with additional civil rights violations.

The indictment cited 21 instances of rogue conduct between April 2000 and December 2002.

Zani was also indicted on two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and use and carrying of firearm during crime of
violence. Melendez was also indicted on two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, possession of a stolen firearm and
carrying of firearm during crime of violence. Watkins was also indicted on one count of possession of a stolen firearm.

From April 29, 2000, to about June of this year, the indictment said, the officers conspired with others to violate the constitutional
rights of various people.

The officers tried to identify people involved in drug trafficking and where they sold drugs by breaking into residences and
conducting illegal searches for drugs. They also illegally detained people on the street and searched and questioned them, the
indictment said.

If they found drugs, firearms or contraband during the illegal searches, they would decide which ones to arrest. Then they would
falsify their police reports to justify the criminal charges and the initial searches and seizures, the indictment said. They sometimes
kept some or all of the money, drugs or firearms they found during the searches, the indictment said.

If they found too little contraband, the indictment said, they would plant drugs, guns or money, claiming they found them on or near
the people chosen for the illegal arrest.

They also intimidated people they found inside the houses with threats of violence or illegal arrests, the indictment said. Sometimes,
they used body cavity searches to demean the people they were trying to intimidate.

In some cases, the officers would take money from the people they confronted in exchange for not arresting them, according to the
indictment.

Besides falsifying police reports, they also lied in court, the indictment said.

I bet they've got a lil pucker factor workin now

Let me beat the cop-bashers to it...

As an ex-LEO I say, if they're guilty, I hope they get the book thrown at them.

How's that?

They may want to invest in some vaseline.

Cop or no cop, a crook is a crook.

BOHIC, boyzzz

You might have left out the part about how you can see why law abiding citizens are suspious of "police officers" aka JBT's.

yea, but there's something unique about detroit PD versus all the other depts. DETROIT PD WILL TAKE (send thru the academy) ANYBODY WITH A HEART BEAT.

this type of behavior doesn't surprise me a bit coming out of detroit. i just feel bad for the other DPD officers that are on the straight & narrow that have to swim in the wake of this mess those assmerchants caused.

detroit's a shithole!

Hold the bashings for a minute here boys.
These men are not guilty of a fucking thing yet,they have the right to be tried in a court of law and then if a jury says they are guilty you can bash them.
But here in the USA we are presumed innocent until proven guilty,correct?

On a side note why do some of those guys have gang names?
If these guys get found guilty there is going to be an influx of criminals let lose on the streets of Detroit,they have more then their share now,where the fuck are they gonna put all those criminals?

You're partly correct.  It's a minor point, but a person is "guilty" of committing a crime the second he does it.  Our legal system "presumes innocence until proven guilty."  That is the [u]legal system[/u].  And it is a fine system.

But a murderer is guilty the second his victims' heart stops beating.

Any way, thanks jrzy, for taking up for the men in blue.  Maybe you're becoming a convert? [:D]

SERIOUS QUESTION:

I've heard so much about how the vast majority of LEO's really are the "good guys" and only a very few are bad cops.

Did any of the "good cops" get suspicious when they started calling each other "Officer Robocop" or "Officer Spike" or "Officer Joker"?

The "god cops" had no idea this was going on?

Or........the code of silence was in force?

The whole innocent till proven guilty thing died a long time ago. Where have you been man? We have a government that treats us all as potential criminals because we like to exercise our RKABA for example. Just like every Muslim in this country is treated as a potential terrorist, in the name of security. So let these guys go through the same shit we all would have to and let them prove their innocents. They are guilty till THEY prove otherwise. The same way O.J was guilty in the minds of damn near everyone till he proved he wasn't. (i still say the man did it) Just like when i got popped for paraphanalia, I was guilty. I had to prove that i didn' even smoke weed. There was no proof against me execpt that the freakin bowl was under the seat I was sitting on in a car i didn't even own. Naw inoccent till proven guilty my ass.

There's been several expose`s on the Detroit force. 60 Minutes ran one several years ago & there's others, I'm sure.

Chicago area DEA, BATF & PD is another cesspool of corruption. Like the others, I feel for the honest guys.

If those in law enforcement were given the praise, respect, and more importantly financial compensation for the thankless work they perform, these officers wouldn't have had to resort embarking on the "illegal" entreprenurial enterprise they are accused of.
What they did is nothing different from which was portrayed and widely accepted by civilians  on the Fox television show "The Shield".

I love that show!  What they did wrong was get caught.

Living outside of Detroit and working in the middle of Detroit's notorious Northwest side, I encounter many Detroit cops. Most are good folks who suffer from piss poor training and a lack of workable equipment.

The new chief is a POS from Richmond, Va. and the mayor (the Hip-Hop mayor) is a 31 year old former state senator who's momma is Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (she's had her own problems with the law).

The Feds think it's the worst PD in the nation. You can be 18 and selected for the academy and there are more than few 21 year old cops running around Detroit. Starting pay is in the gutter.

The city is a shithole and the good cops can't do it by themselves.

This is the all too predictable result of low hiring standards and affirmative action in policing.

If you take a bad area (Detroit), under pay the cops who work there, you will not attract high quality applicants. You will attract the very bottum of the barrel. Add affirmative action to the mix and you will attract thugs and gang bangers, who you will end up hiring, becuase no professional law enforcement officer will work there.  

I don't even know why i'm responding to this but, come on imbroglio it's a tv show. Now for the real life cops that got busted, they knew what could happen and they chose to do it. They made their choice. Hows that saying go- the road to hell is paved with good intentions- or some shit like that. What makes it so bad is that these are people entrusted to uphold the laws, instead they preverted skirted and broke the law for personal gain. That makes them no better than any other criminal, and they deserve what ever the hell they get from the system, just like any other criminal.

Too bad it is not that simple.  The reality is Paramedics and Firefighters are considered the "water" used to fight the "fire".  Cops are the "fire" used to fight "fire".  in this case they need to be tougher and meaner that the criminals.  I don't condemn these men.  I condemn the system that allows good men to be corrupted.