Wednesday, November 03, 2004

AL Task Force Chief Guilty of Extortion, Theft

A drug task force commander in Alabama pled guilty Tuesday to three counts: extortion, lying to the FBI, and misuse of task force funds. He'd been indicted in July on ten counts, most of which stemmed from cases where he extorted money from people in exchange for not arresting them. He also allegedly "misapplied" $5,000 in federal task force grant money for his own uses.

Recently the drug task force has been focusing on pursuing marijuana busts.

Carmen S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the Birmingham Field Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation stated, “A law enforcement officer who engages in criminal activity compromises the core values and institutional integrity of an honorable profession. Such actions reflect a lack of respect for those we are sworn to serve, and ultimately diminish the credibility of all law enforcement in the eyes of the public.”

Regular Grits readers know this isn't an unusual case. Special Agent Adams sums up my view entirely on why these drug task forces should be abolished.

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