cops stealing stuff during drug searches

New round of theft accusations against S.F. cops

For the second time in a week, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi accused police of stealing from drug suspects after releasing video footage Tuesday that shows two officers walk into a residential hotel empty-handed and leave with bags that were not booked into evidence.

The latest accusation brought an angry response from the head of the police officers' union, who said there was probably an innocent explanation and called Adachi a "media whore" who is staining the careers of good cops for political gain.

At a news conference at Adachi's office, the 65-year-old resident of the Mission District hotel room that was searched, Jesus Reyes, said he recognized one of the bags shown on video taken by surveillance cameras. He said the backpack had contained a Dell laptop computer, and that he was missing a Sony digital camera as well.

Adachi identified the plainclothes officer with the computer bag as Richard Guerrero, who faces similar allegations in a separate case, and the second officer as Reynaldo Vargas, who was once accused of slashing a suspect with a broken crack pipe.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/17/MN7T1JHAST.DTL#ixzz1MkqMTNcH

Crack-pipe slashing

Vargas survived a serious disciplinary case in 2002, when he handcuffed a man accused of evading a cable-car fare after a brief struggle.

According to disciplinary charges, Vargas put the suspect in a squad car and then, as he drove, jabbed him with a broken crack pipe that had been found near the man, shouting, "Eat it! Eat it!" before releasing his bleeding victim.

Vargas admitted to using too much force when the case was settled at the Police Commission in 2005. The man accepted $60,000 from the city to drop a lawsuit, and Vargas returned to duty.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/17/MN7T1JHAST.DTL#ixzz1MkvHloBB