TROY COP SUSPENDED AFTER COCAINE ARREST

A Troy police officer who was arrested Wednesday and charged with illegal
possession of cocaine has been suspended from duty.

John M. Cullen, 35, was picked up by agents from the Illinois State Police
at 1:19 p.m. Wednesday on Interstate 55/70 near Illinois Route 159,
authorities said. He was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled
substance.

A statement from the Madison County State's Attorney's office said Cullen
was arrested after cocaine was found in his possession. He was off-duty at
the time of the incident, according to the statement.

If convicted of the class 4 felony it would mean the end of his career in
law enforcement, Troy Police Chief Bill Brown said.

"Any conviction of a class 4 felony would preclude him from serving as a
police officer," Brown said "It's state law. Felons can't carry firearms."

Brown said Cullen had been a patrol officer with the Troy Police Department
for five-and-a-half years, and his arrest on drug charges was a shock.

"It just kind of caught everybody by surprise. He was always very
competent. He was a little on the quiet side, but always what I considered
a good officer. It really caught everybody off guard," Brown said.

Brown said Cullen is married, and lives in Troy, but has no children.
Cullen is on administrative leave, Brown said, which means he is suspended
with pay until the completion of an internal investigation.

"When that's complete, we'll see where that takes us. I'll assign that to a
member of my command staff," Brown said.

The arrest of Cullen leaves the department short-staffed, but does not
create much of a difficulty for Brown, he said.

"We'll have to do a little shuffling of schedules, but we've had people go
off to extended schools and such before, so it won't be that big a deal,"
he said.

Brown said he found out about Cullen's arrest soon after the incident.
Agents with the Illinois State Police contacted him to let him know, he said.

Illinois State Police narcotics investigators are being tight-lipped about
the arrest, providing few details, and referring calls to the Troy Police
Department.

Cullen was taken into custody and charged Wednesday and bond was set at
$15,000, but according to the State Police he was released on his own
recognizance. A date for a preliminary hearing has not yet been set.