TSU OFFICER CHARGED IN THEFT, SALE OF DRUG

A Texas Southern University police officer was charged Friday with
stealing two kilos of cocaine from an undercover officer, then selling
it to another undercover officer.

Russell Lovell Simpson, 28, of the 17100 block of Imperial Valley, was
on duty, in uniform and driving his marked TSU patrol car when he
delivered the cocaine in exchange for $30,000, police said. He was
charged with manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance, and
has been freed on $100,000 bail.

Simpson was arrested without incident by Houston SWAT officers after
the transaction in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant in the
3700 block of Scott about 2 a.m. Sept. 25.

Simpson, who had worked for TSU since Aug. 1, had been the subject of
an undercover investigation for about three weeks, said HPD spokesman
John Cannon.

TSU Police Chief Cordell Lindsey said Simpson, who came to TSU from
the Fort Bend County Precinct 2 Constable's Office, was fired
immediately after his arrest.

Copyright 1998 Houston Chronicle

Checked-by: Don Beck