NO CHARGES IN POLICE DRUG CASE

Suspect Accused Officers Of Stealing

No criminal charges will be filed against two Springfield police officers
accused of taking cocaine and money from a suspected drug dealer at the
Hilton Springfield Sept. 29.

They may still face department discipline, however.

Sangamon County State's Attorney John Schmidt said Thursday that proving
criminal allegations contained in a 206-page Illinois State Police report
"depend on the truthfulness of the alleged victim." The report, he said,
did not bear out the man's veracity.

The two unidentified officers one of whom has been on the force since April
1998 and the other since June 1996 were accused of taking the drugs and
cash from a man during an investigation of drug use in a bathroom of the hotel.

"The independent Illinois State Police investigation revealed that the
alleged victim was not truthful," Schmidt said. "He claimed the officers
took approximately $400 in cash from him. The state police investigation
determined that was not true." "All the evidence points to the fact that he
didn't have $400," Schmidt said.

The officers were called to the Hilton Springfield, 700 E. Adams St., about
2:15 a.m. to investigate reports that at least two people were using drugs
in a bathroom.

Several northern Illinois police officers who had graduated from the
Illinois State Police Academy earlier in the day and were celebrating the
event saw the alleged drug use and contacted local authorities. According
to dispatch records, hotel security officers requested help from
Springfield police, and two officers from the 11 p.m.-to-7 a.m. shift went
to the hotel.

According to records, they terminated the call at 3:08 a.m. with a code
indicating people at the scene had provided information but that there was
no need for a written report.

One of the men accused of having the cocaine allegedly later told
Springfield police that he thought it unusual that the officers had
confiscated the drugs and money but did not arrest him.

Springfield police administrators then asked state police to investigate.

Schmidt said he received the completed report on Wednesday and completed
his review Thursday.

"When Chief Harris (Springfield Police Chief John Harris) was informed of
the allegations, he immediately called for an independent state police
investigation," Schmidt said. "They did a very thorough and professional
investigation."

The two officers were placed on administrative duty when the allegations
first surfaced, and Springfield police spokesman Sgt. Kevin Keene said they
remain on that assignment. The officers are assigned to their homes and
must be available to work from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. They are required
to check in with the department twice a day.

"Our internal investigation (involving the department's internal affairs
division) regarding the non-criminal aspects is still under way," Keene
said, noting that things like violations of police department policy or
procedures would fall into the non-criminal category.

If violations are found, punishment may be handed out by Harris. Results of
internal investigations generally are not made public, Keene said.

Schmidt said he could not reveal results of an Illinois State Crime Lab
analysis of suspected cocaine or cocaine residue taken as evidence in
connection with the incident, nor could he say if the officers were tested
for drug use. The allegations led to an accelerated shake-up of
street-level leadership in the police department.