An indicted Chicago police officer said his supervisors in the Special Operations Section encouraged officers to lie on police reports to cover up illegal searches for guns and drugs, according to the CBS News program "60 Minutes."
Keith Herrera, who was interviewed by CBS anchor Katie Couric for a story set to air Sunday, said supervisors encouraged falsifying reports to make cases appear more solid in court.
" 'Creative writing' was a certain term that bosses used to make sure that the job got done," he said. "I didn't just pick up a pen and just learn how to [lie on reports]. Bosses, guys that I work with who were older than I was ... It's taught to you."
Herrera faces as many as 30 years in prison if convicted of armed violence, home invasion, robbery and other charges brought in 2006.
Herrera described lying as a means to get criminals off the street, even if officers did not have solid evidence.
"Do you want that guy ... that just shot somebody to not go to jail because he threw the gun?" Herrera said in the interview. "Or do you want him to go to jail because he never let the gun out of his hand? ... I know what I've got to do."
According to a partial transcript released Friday by CBS, Herrera acknowledged he stole money.
Herrera, 30, is the first of seven indicted officers to speak publicly about the investigation since they were charged in September 2006.
Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said that the charges against Herrera were partly the result of a police internal investigation and that accountability measures instituted under new Supt. Jody Weis "have been enhanced and implemented to ensure the highest level of professional conduct and moral integrity."
In the interview, Herrera said he was the FBI informant who secretly recorded indicted officer Jerry Finnigan planning to hire a hit man to kill a fellow officer.
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