Thursday, March 12, 2009

Seven Detroit Vice Officers Suspended for Falsifying Arrest Reports

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing whether to issue criminal charges against seven Detroit police officers who are accused of falsifying arrest records, the office's spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The cops labeled it Operation Ice Breaker, a city-suburban law enforcement effort to bust drug dealers and prostitutes along 8 Mile.

Instead, seven Detroit vice cops have been suspended with pay on allegations of falsifying the arrest reports.

The allegations against the cops are: They couldn't find any prostitutes on 8 Mile, so they went to Harper and Chalmers on the east side and arrested five people for prostitution during three days in mid-February. The officers are accused of writing their report to say the busts happened on 8 Mile to fit the roundup's purpose.

Members of the Board of Police Commissioners last week refused to suspend the cops without pay, despite a recommendation from police executives and Chief James Barren.

Commissioner Adela Rivera, a former Detroit police officer, told the Free Press Wednesday that she believes the cops should be paid until they appear before a departmental trial board to present their cases.

"Look at the economy, people can't afford to be laid off with no income," Rivera said. "I think the city blanketed all seven officers together under one allegation. Sometimes as a police officer you do what your boss tells you and if that's the case, I think they should be allowed to justify why they did what they did."

Police spokesman James Tate said the matter is under investigation by the department's internal affairs division.

"Once the allegations were presented, the department moved swiftly to assure no further allegations would take place," Tate said.

Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, said her office also is investigating.

John Goldpaugh, an attorney for the Detroit Police Officers Association, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said his department was part of the crackdown in February along with other suburban communities along 8 Mile.

"It was something, quite frankly, that Chief Barren came up with and it was producing good results," Dwyer said. "It's not my place to comment on what happened. I talked to the chief and he indicated there were some problems."

Dwyer said there was supposed to be a news conference announcing the results of the anticrime blitz. He's uncertain whether the allegations against the seven cops led to cancellation of the news conference.

Rivera said she will change her stance if the officers are found guilty at their respective trial boards.

"We don't have any room for lying officers," she said. "But I don't think it's fair to suspend them without pay until they've had their day in court."

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