8 FROM DETROIT POLICE INDICTED IN DRUG THEFT

Missing Cocaine Was In The Evidence Room

At least eight current and former employees of the Detroit Police Department
have been indicted in the disappearance of millions of dollars' worth of
seized narcotics, a top police official said Friday.

Deputy Chief Gary Brown said the drugs were stolen on numerous occasions
dating to the mid-1990s, though he wouldn't pinpoint a number.

"We just know how much is taken and it's substantially more than we
originally believed," said Brown, who oversees the department's part of a
joint investigation into the missing drugs with the U.S. Justice Department.

In March, police officials disclosed that about 35 kilograms of cocaine,
worth about $12 million, were missing from the first-floor property room in
the downtown headquarters.

News of the indictments comes during a bad week for the police department. A
lawyer accused an off-duty sergeant of fatally shooting a man twice in the
back, and a police commissioner implied that many squad car video cameras
are not working because officers don't want their behavior recorded.

Brown would not discuss many details of the federal indictments, which are
sealed but are expected to be announced next week. He said the suspects
include police officers and civilian workers. Some of the suspects are
current employees.

The drugs were found to be missing after narcotics officers came to retrieve
cocaine for use in an undercover investigation. Police had seized the
cocaine in a 1993 bust.

In place of the real stuff, the narcotics cops found flour in the property
room, officials said.

Brown said department officials asked for help from federal investigators to
determine what happened.

For years, the property room has been a mess. Brown and other officials have
admitted there were sloppy accounting procedures and lax security. He said
matters have improved recently with the installation of video cameras, new
employees and stricter controls.

The room is home to tens of thousands of pieces of evidence, including
seized drugs, stolen jewelry and cash. Most of the evidence is kept in the
room for use in trials and appeals.

Brown said investigators have figured out what happened to the drugs, but he
would not provide details, including whether any of it was sold on the
streets.

Several property room employees have been transferred in recent months in
incidents unrelated to the missing drugs, Brown said. He said department
leaders hope to fire an officer they believe stole about $1,000 worth of
stereo equipment, a case in which prosecutors declined to seek charges. The
other incidents revolved around policy violations, such as shoddy
record-keeping, Brown said.

Aside from helping the department in the investigation of the missing drugs,
Justice Department investigators have been digging into other areas of the
department for nearly two years.

The federal probe has focused on police shootings of civilians, conditions
at police lockups and allegations that officers illegally conducted
dragnets, arresting witnesses and others to coerce their cooperation in
homicide investigations.

Detroit Police Chief Jerry Oliver has pledged cooperation with federal
investigators, and has ordered improvements that include the rewriting of a
department policy handbook.

Oliver, who was hired as chief in January, has said many of the problems are
due to badly outdated policies and traditions. He was not available Friday
to comment on problems that arose this week.

On Tuesday, the off-duty sergeant shot and killed Mark Boyce, 37, outside a
west-side bar. Police said Sgt. Kevin Kemp was trying to break up a fight
and that Boyce had a gun, though none was found.

Homicide Inspector Craig Schwartz said the shooting appeared justified, but
on Thursday, a lawyer for Boyce's family said a private autopsy showed Boyce
was shot twice in the back.

Deputy Chief Brown said the shooting may be legally justified, but he is
looking into whether Kemp acted within department rules. The department's
review is not final, but "it looks like there were some decisions made that
were not good decisions."

Also Thursday, Detroit Police Commissioner Nathaniel Head asked the
department to explain why only 50 of 300 video cameras installed in squad
cars are operating. Head said people who have complained about police abuse
have been told cameras that should have recorded the behavior in question
were not working.