Ex-Los Angeles Officers Charged in Robbing Drug Houses

LOS ANGELES (AP) - They cased homes containing drugs, money and weapons like suspects in any other robbery ring, prosecutors say. But instead of donning ski masks and stealing through windows in the dead of night, the robbers allegedly wore police uniforms and badges as they carried out raids that authorities say were intended to appear like official law enforcement searches. Five of the suspects were sworn officers at the time.

Nineteen people have been charged in the ring, led by then-Los Angeles police Officer Ruben Palomares, prosecutors said Thursday in announcing the results of a four-year investigation.

Palomares and his associates are accused of targeting locations where people were suspected of selling drugs, then gaining access by saying they were conducting a legitimate police search before stealing valuables, prosecutors said. "While this story sounds like a script from 'The Shield' or 'Training Day,' it actually happened here in L.A.," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien.

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted six people, and those arrested were a former sheriff's deputy now on leave from the state Department of Corrections and two fired officers from the Los Angeles and Long Beach police departments. Three people who were indicted are still being sought.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060303/D8G458MO0.html

"While this story sounds like a script from 'The Shield' or 'Training Day,' it actually happened here in L.A.,"

Um. Does this poor shlep realize that "The Shield" was inspired by the Rampart division of the LAPD- and was specifically inspired by this exact sort of behavior?

SHEESH!!

someone would remember the Ramparts scandal

in a minority community

NOT AT ALL

I know for a fact that cops steal drugs all the time. A friend of mine got busted for having an outstanding warrant but he also had a baggie of weed on him. He said the cop searched him, found the weed and he later saw him stuff into the seat of his squard car.

I write about it every week in the Drug War Chronicle (www.stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle) in the "Law Enforcement: This week's Corrupt Cops Stories" feature. Every week there are four or five or six or eight crooked cops busted, tried, or sentenced.