Crooked cop (now an air marshal) gets probation in fake cocaine scandal

Unknown News
May. 22, 2007

Commentary by UnknownNews.org's Helen & Harry:

The moral of the story: A police officer who's involved in planting evidence of serious crimes will face no serious punishment, and indeed, can still have a well-paid career as an air marshal...

Also worth noting: The Associated Press's original headline for this article was "Former Dallas police officer sentenced in fake drug scandal."

In headlines reporting police corruption, it's quite common to see the word "sentenced" used as a euphemism for "probation," or "home confinement," or "suspended sentence," or "several hundred dollar fine," or "his record will be wiped clean," or other slaps on the wrist from a judicial system that all-too-often protects crooked cops from facing actual punishment for their actual crimes. A former Dallas police officer accused in the department's fake drug scandal has been found guilty of tampering with evidence.

Jeffrey Haywood was sentenced to two years' probation following the guilty verdict Friday night.

Prosecutors say Haywood lied in a police report by saying he field-tested a substance believed to be cocaine when it was seized in May 2001. The substance turned out to be pool chalk mixed with a tiny amount of cocaine.

Defense attorneys told jurors that even a small amount of cocaine would show a positive result.

Haywood left the Dallas Police Department to become an air marshal when he was indicted.

He is the second officer convicted in the scandal, in which more than two-dozen people were falsely arrested after paid Dallas police informants planted what was said to be drugs. Many of those arrested were Hispanic immigrants and were sentenced to jail.

Former officer Mark Delapaz was convicted in connection with the scandal. Delapaz was convicted of lying to a judge while obtaining a search warrant and of stealing money while working as a narcotics officer. Cases are pending against two other officers.

An investigation blamed poor supervision for the fake-drug scandal. Numerous policies have been changed since then.