Post by Shuftin on Sept 21, 2006 17:14:39 GMT -5
CHICAGO-- Four police officers used their badges and authority to "terrorize and steal" from Chicago residents, a prosecutor said Friday as the officers made their first court appearances on charges including armed violence and home invasion.
One officer is accused of wrongfully entering a man's house, breaking into his safe and stealing a rookie card of baseball legend Mickey Mantle. Prosecutors said the officers targeted Hispanics and would often file drug charges against their victims, but then fail to appear in court, causing the charges to be dismissed.
Cook County Judge Matthew Coghlan set bond for the four officers at amounts ranging from $1.5 million (?1.18 million) to $3 million (?2.36 million). Wearing street clothes, they all appeared via closed circuit television during the hearing.
The officers are Jerome Finnigan, 43; Keith Herrera, 28; Thomas Sherry, 32; and Carl Suchocki, 32, all of Chicago. The charges involve 11 incidents dating back to June 2003.
Defense attorneys argued for lower bond amounts, saying all four were decorated officers with extensive ties to the community. Three of the four officers have family members who have served with the Chicago Police Department, their attorneys said.
Jim Knibbs, Cook County assistant state's attorney, said the officers - members of a unit that focuses on gang and drug crimes - sought to steal money and illegal narcotics from people who seemed least likely to complain.
"The defendants, along with other as of yet uncharged officers, abused their authority and sworn police powers to terrorize and steal from the people of this city," he said.
Knibbs did not elaborate how many other officers might be under investigation.
In one case that prosecutors detailed, Finnigan is accused of detaining a man who was standing in front of his own home and using the man's key to get into his home without a warrant or the man's consent. Finnigan was accused of forcing open a safe and stealing a Mantle rookie baseball card, a 24-karat gold watch and $200 in cash.
The man and two other individuals at the home were charged with possession of marijuana, but no officers showed up for the preliminary hearings, and the charges were dismissed, prosecutors said.
The officers have been suspended without pay and the police department intends to move to fire them.
The charges include multiple counts of armed violence, home invasion, aggravated kidnapping and delivery of a controlled substance. If convicted, the officers could each face up to 30 years in prison.
Some of them also have been named in civil lawsuits.
Jose Hermosillo recently settled a lawsuit in federal court with the city for $50,000 (?39,330). His suit claimed that Finnigan, Sherry and other officers broke into his house in 2004, beat and robbed him of $5,000 (?3,900).
"I have no doubt the cops who went to this house were dirty. They set him up," said attorney Joel Whitehouse, who represented Hermosillo in the criminal case.
The officers are due back in court on Oct. 3.
One officer is accused of wrongfully entering a man's house, breaking into his safe and stealing a rookie card of baseball legend Mickey Mantle. Prosecutors said the officers targeted Hispanics and would often file drug charges against their victims, but then fail to appear in court, causing the charges to be dismissed.
Cook County Judge Matthew Coghlan set bond for the four officers at amounts ranging from $1.5 million (?1.18 million) to $3 million (?2.36 million). Wearing street clothes, they all appeared via closed circuit television during the hearing.
The officers are Jerome Finnigan, 43; Keith Herrera, 28; Thomas Sherry, 32; and Carl Suchocki, 32, all of Chicago. The charges involve 11 incidents dating back to June 2003.
Defense attorneys argued for lower bond amounts, saying all four were decorated officers with extensive ties to the community. Three of the four officers have family members who have served with the Chicago Police Department, their attorneys said.
Jim Knibbs, Cook County assistant state's attorney, said the officers - members of a unit that focuses on gang and drug crimes - sought to steal money and illegal narcotics from people who seemed least likely to complain.
"The defendants, along with other as of yet uncharged officers, abused their authority and sworn police powers to terrorize and steal from the people of this city," he said.
Knibbs did not elaborate how many other officers might be under investigation.
In one case that prosecutors detailed, Finnigan is accused of detaining a man who was standing in front of his own home and using the man's key to get into his home without a warrant or the man's consent. Finnigan was accused of forcing open a safe and stealing a Mantle rookie baseball card, a 24-karat gold watch and $200 in cash.
The man and two other individuals at the home were charged with possession of marijuana, but no officers showed up for the preliminary hearings, and the charges were dismissed, prosecutors said.
The officers have been suspended without pay and the police department intends to move to fire them.
The charges include multiple counts of armed violence, home invasion, aggravated kidnapping and delivery of a controlled substance. If convicted, the officers could each face up to 30 years in prison.
Some of them also have been named in civil lawsuits.
Jose Hermosillo recently settled a lawsuit in federal court with the city for $50,000 (?39,330). His suit claimed that Finnigan, Sherry and other officers broke into his house in 2004, beat and robbed him of $5,000 (?3,900).
"I have no doubt the cops who went to this house were dirty. They set him up," said attorney Joel Whitehouse, who represented Hermosillo in the criminal case.
The officers are due back in court on Oct. 3.
