Judge tosses more drug convictions in Chicago cop scandal – By Don Babwin (Associated Press) / Dec 15 2020
The number of felony drug convictions involving a disgraced former Chicago police sergeant to be overturned has reached the 100 mark
CHICAGO — A judge on Tuesday threw out the felony drug convictions of six men who were framed by a disgraced former Chicago police sergeant’s team, bringing to 100 the number of overturned convictions linked to a years-long scheme to shake down residents of one of the city’s poorest communities.
The Cook County court hearing marked the latest chapter in a story of corruption that has been breathtaking in its scope in the four years since judges in Chicago started overturning drug cases of Black drug dealers and residents of the Ida B. Wells public housing project on the city’s South Side. They were convicted after they refused to pay then-Sgt. Ronald Watts and his tactical unit.
In a statement, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx suggested that it was impossible to overstate the damage that officers like Watts has done to Chicago and its police department. They have long struggled to win the trust of residents, particularly those in predominantly Black neighborhoods.
