http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/26/1373488/-Illinois-State-Police-raid-St-Louis-area-police-dept-over-missing-gun-and-drugs-from-evidence-room?detail=email
A Brooklyn, Illinois police department is in hot water after one of their detectives was featured posing with evidence, evidence that is still missing:
Allegations against the Brooklyn Police Department include mishandling of evidence. Former detective Chris Heatherly is accused of taking an AR-15 rifle out of an evidence locker and keeping it in the trunk of his car. Heatherly is also accused of posing for a picture with the rifle in hand. The photo was used in a police department calendar.
In a letter, St. Clair County's State's Attorney said the action is flagrant violation of police protocol and said it breached the integrity of the evidence in the case. The prosecutor also said he would not prosecute any more cases where Heatherly is relied on as a witness, and added the ammunition and suspected drugs that were seized in connection to the investigation involving the AR-15 have not been found.
Ammo and drugs are also missing.
No word on when Detective Heatherly left the police department, but the Illinois State's Attorney's office claims Detective Heatherly basically helped himself to the AR-15:
- He kept this rifle in the trunk of his squad car in a case he had purchased for it.
- He attached his own sling to this assault rifle.
- While on duty he posed for a picture while holding this rifle, and the picture was used in a department calendar.
Furthermore, St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly had this to say:
“While it appears, from the evidence available to my office at this time, Mr. Heatherly had no criminal or malicious intent, I am struck by the fact that he is a veteran police officer who knew or should have known that his actions breached the integrity of the evidence in a criminal case. Mr. Heatherly’s choice to remove a rifle from evidence on a pending case constitutes a flagrant violation of fundamental police protocol and thus creates an irreparable credibility deficit,” Kelly wrote.
this kind of action is obviously permitted in these places tampering with evidence or stealing it for your own advantage. what got this up front in the media was the audacity of arrogance the guy posed for a photo opt on a police calendaer of a criminal act. everyone should know by now you take no picture that can't be published at some point people have auto uploads for pics on their phones to cloud or one drive or skydive, but in the moment of selfiemania they forget and do dumb crap like this. i'm not pushing so much for smarter cops except for those who have homicidal tendencies, because they give themselves away and it might for now be the only way we can weed out the rotten ones.
