17 OFFICERS ACCUSED OF CITY REIGN OF TERROR

Police Are Suspected Of Rogue Conduct, Threats And Assaults

They dangled one man by his legs from a second-story window.

They threatened to kill a woman if she told anyone about the way they were
treating her.

They stepped on the face of another woman with such force, they dislodged a
tooth.

Prosecutors say these were not the acts of neighborhood gang members, but of
17 rogue Detroit police officers charged in a federal indictment Thursday.
The officers allegedly stole drugs, firearms and money from suspected drug
dealers during a two-year reign of terror on the city's southwest side.

All 17 were indicted on one count of conspiring to violate people's civil
rights, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000
fine upon conviction. Eight officers were charged with additional civil
rights violations.

Two officers were charged with using a firearm to commit a crime of
violence, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years in prison.
Two were accused of possession of a stolen firearm, which carries a maximum
penalty of 10 years.

The indictment said the officers planted evidence and falsified police
reports on several victims, five to 10 of whom may be serving time in prison
for crimes they didn't commit. In other cases, the officers allegedly let
victims go after pocketing money and drugs.

"The conduct that gives rise to the indictment is despicable," U.S. Attorney
Jeffrey Collins said at a news conference.

Although the department has been beset with repeated scandals, longtime
observers couldn't recall so many officers being caught up in a single
indictment.

The indictment came a week after the U.S. Justice Department and Detroit
Police signed two federal consent decrees to take steps to stop violating
the civil rights of people who come into contact with city cops. The decrees
were prompted by Free Press reports of fatal shootings of civilians by
police, mistreatment of prisoners in lockups and the mass arrests of
witnesses in homicide cases.

On Tuesday, the Detroit Police Officers Association launched radio ads
against Police Chief Jerry Oliver, who Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick hired last
year to clean up the department. The union is unhappy with Oliver's methods.

"These 17 indictments today represent yet one more installment on our
collective pledge to restore this department to prominence and more
importantly to rebuild our credibility and the confidence and respect in the
citizens of Detroit," Oliver said.

Other officers stepped forward to help in the probe, officials said.

Alleged rights violations

The eight-count indictment said the officers, most of whom work for the 3rd
(Vernor) and 4th (Fort-Green) precincts, conspired to violate the
constitutional rights of several people since April 2000.

It said the officers tried to find people they believed were involved in
drug trafficking. The officers then allegedly broke into the suspects' homes
without search warrants to look for drugs. In some cases, they grabbed
people off the street, the indictment charged.

If they found drugs, guns or other contraband, they would decide which
victims to arrest and then falsify reports to justify taking them in, the
indictment said. Sometimes they kept the money, drugs, or guns they seized
and let the people go, the indictment said.

When they found too little contraband, they planted drugs, guns or money on
their victims, the indictment said. Besides falsifying police reports, they
also lied in court, the indictment said.

The indictment listed 21 incidents.

On Feb. 9, 2002, Matthew Zani,Mark Diaz, and other officers allegedly held
Michael Holt by his legs from a second-story window during an illegal search
at a home in the 3700 block of Tillman. It's unclear what prompted the
incident. The officers also are accused of tightening a noose around Holt's
neck and threatening to kill him.

The officers allegedly falsely arrested another man in the house, James
Underwood, for possession of cocaine and marijuana and hit him in the head
while he was handcuffed, the indictment said. They later filed false reports
claiming Underwood had gone to the front door of the home to buy drugs. It's
unclear what happened to both men.

During an illegal search on April 24, 2002, the indictment said, Officer
William Melendez and five other officers forced their way into a home in the
4800 block of Ternes.

Once inside, they beat a man identified as Anthony Perry and subjected him
to an illegal body-cavity search, the indictment said. They stepped on the
face of a woman identified as Irene Lake, dislodging one of her teeth,
prosecutors said. Perry, Lake and Tracy Brown were arrested on bogus drug
charges, the indictment said.

In a 2000 incident, Zani allegedly fondled the breasts of a woman. He and
Christopher Ruizthen stole $1,242 of her money, the indictment said.

In another episide, Zani, Diaz and another officer took $2,000 from a man
and gave it to children near the Jeffries projects, the government said.

Pair singled out

Officials identified Melendez and Zani as the major offenders. The men
allegedly were involved in 11 and nineof the 21 incidents, respectively.
Five officers, including Nicole Rich, the only female officer to be
indicted, allegedly were involved in one incident each, prosecutors said.

Melendez, Zani and six other officers made brief appearances Thursday in
federal court in downtown Detroit. Melendez, Zani and Officer Troy Bradley
were held overnight pending detention hearings today. Federal prosecutors
want them jailed pending trial, saying they pose a danger to the community.

Magistrate Thomas Carlson released most of the others on $10,000 unsecured
bond, prohibited them from having any contact with witnesses and ordered
them to surrender their weapons and passports to the FBI.

Carlson ordered Diaz placed under house arrest with an electronic tether.

The officers appeared in court in short-sleeve shirts and jeans or Bermuda
shorts and had little to say. They were brought in handcuffed. Officer Rich
wept during the proceedings.

The other officers are to appear in court today. Carlson plans to conduct
their arraignments Monday when they are to respond to the charges.

Diaz told reporters that he and many of the other officers are innocent.

"If any officers are guilty of doing any of these crimes, they should be in
jail," Diaz said. "Unfortunately, it's going to require some of the officers
who are not guilty to go through the process with them. I want everyone to
know that just because officers were indicted today does not mean they are
guilty," he said.

Three of those indicted -- Melendez, Denny Borg, and Timothy Gilbert -- are
former DPOA officers of the year, according to Charles Barbieri, commander
of the 4th Precinct.

Barbieri said he was shocked.

"We got hit hard today," he said. "Some of the officers indicted are good
officers. I feel that eventually some will be exonerated.

"I'm not defending corruption," he added. "Does it happen? Yes. Do false
reports get made simply because they can? Yes and absolutely. The bad guys
don't have to play by the rules."

Complaints trigger probe

The investigation began last July and apparently was prompted by citizen
complaints, Collins said. The case was investigated by the Joint
Investigative Task Force, which is made up of the Detroit Police
Department's Professional Accountability Bureau, the FBI and the U.S.
Attorney's Office. The group was formed a year ago.

The indictments meant a lot of smiles at the Penick home. "It feels good,"
said Shaniqua Penick, 19. "It's about time they got all the corrupt cops off
the streets."

According to the indictment, on Dec. 3, Melendez subjected Penick's father,
Nathaniel Penick, 42, to an unreasonable search at his home in the 1000
block of Rademacher. While searching, Melendez allegedly stole about $2,000
belonging to Penick and his wife, Anita Penick, 37.

Shaniqua Penick recounted how she, her mother, and her brother Nathaniel
Penick Jr., 18, were walking on the front sidewalk of the family home at
about 11 p.m. when a police officer told them they couldn't go inside.

About 20 minutes passed before the police left. Penick's father told the
family the officers never showed him a warrant. Later that night, Penick
said her mother could not find the $2,000 she kept to pay the family's
bills.

Penick said her mother waited about two days and then filed a complaint.

Sheryl Robinson, the newly appointed federal monitor who will oversee
enforcement of the federal consent decrees, declined to comment on the
indictments.

Oliver told Police Commissioner Edgar Vann Jr. at Thursday's commission
meeting that other investigations are under way.

"This is not the end of it," Oliver said. "There are other allegations and
there are other investigations that will be proceeding."