OFF-DUTY EAST CHICAGO COP INVESTIGATED AFTER DRUG BUST

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. -- An off-duty police officer was on paid
administrative leave after police found him inside a house during a
federal drug raid, authorities said.

Sgt. Roosevelt Howard, an 18-year veteran with the East Chicago
Police Department, was in a Gary house late last month when members
of the Gary Response Investigative Team raided the property for
"possible narcotic activity," authorities said.

Police Chief Angelo Machuca said Howard will remain on leave until
the department completes its investigation as part of the force's
zero-tolerance policy.

"We, as police officers, must be held to a higher standard than the
average citizen," Machuca said in a statement. "I have committed to
clean up this department, and I will continue to stand to that commitment."

No charges have been filed against Howard, who has held various
command positions during his tenure with the department. He is a
former democratic precinct committeeman.

The Associated Press left a message for Howard at his East Chicago home.

In December, a 16-year veteran of the East Chicago Police Department
pleaded guilty to being involved in a cocaine trafficking ring.
Prosecutors said Eligah Johnson, 45, tipped known drug dealers in the
city's Harbor section about when it would be safe for them to sell
drugs without the threat of arrest.

Cmdr. Clifton Rhodes Jr., was sentenced the same month to a year in
prison for destroying evidence in his brother's Michigan murder trial.