"On January 6, Selective Crime Occurrence Reduction Enforcement Unit officers served a search warrant at a rented house, carefully staged with thousands of dollars' worth of electronics, weed, and cash, unaware that the house was wired with hidden cameras embedded into an alarm clock and smoke detector, recording their every move."
"The ruse worked. Cameras captured three officers stealing video games, an Apple iPod, headphones, and $640 in cash. All three were fired and charged federally with conspiracy, deprivation of civil rights, and theft of government property."
"According to his fellow officers, Gardner had a history of smashing TVs during raids, stealing video games, and even one time swiping a bag of crab legs. "You can't catch me unless you catch me on video," an officer told prosecutors that he recalled Gardner once saying."
"With only the word of these three discredited officers, prosecutors declined to press charges. But in a memo to then-chief Rick Armstrong, the district attorney warned that any future police work involving Gardner-whether detective work, arrests, or testimony-should be viewed with deep suspicion."
In 2011, residents complained about the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department SWAT team for broken TVs, missing cash, lost electronics, and a stolen pornographic video. The department, with FBI assistance, launched Operation Sticky Fingers and staged a rented house wired with hidden cameras. On January 6, SCORE officers executed a search warrant and were recorded stealing electronics and $640 in cash. Three officers were fired and federally charged. Fellow officers implicated a fourth, Jeff Gardner, citing alleged physical abuse of a partner and a pattern of theft and destructive conduct. Prosecutors declined charges against Gardner but flagged his credibility for future police work.
Read at WIRED
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]