Men Allegedly Framed By Corrupt Cop, Get Justice Through Exoneration

A judge in Chicago on Thursday overturned the convictions of 15 people, who alleged they were wrongfully indicted on drug charges by a corrupt police official.

After a brief hearing by Cook County prosecutors, Judge LeRoy Martin Jr. dismissed the charges as it was confirmed that the convictions had no proper base.

The corrupt police officer, Ronald Watts, along with other members on his team, arrested the men between 2003 and 2008 on various drug related charges, USA Today reported.

After the verdict, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel along with Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a joint statement that they have “zero tolerance for abuse, misconduct or any unlawful actions” by the police force.

They added, “The actions of Ronald Watts must be condemned by all of us, and we will continue our work to ensure the abuses of the past are never repeated in the future.”

Mark Rotert, who is the head of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s conviction integrity unit said, “In good conscience we could not see these convictions stand.”

According to a report by Chicago Tribune, the 15 accused had filed a petition two months ago, saying they had been framed by Watts.

The same report also tells the story of a certain Lionel White Jr., who was wrongfully arrested and had drugs planted on him by Watts and his team, 11 years ago.

White said that the incident took place when he was 17 years old and some weeks after his father Lionel Sr. made a complaint to the police about Watts and his underlings planting drugs and framing him as well.

Joshua Tepfer, the lead attorney who represented the 15 men in the case, stressed that the police did not pay heed to the complaints made by the people against Watts.

One of the petitioners, Leonard Gipson, said it was a well-known fact around Ida. B Wells housing complex — which was situated in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago and was demolished in 2011 — that Watts demanded money from drug dealers and he planted the drugs on someone (who were not drug dealers) if they didn’t give him a bribe.

Gipson stated, “Everybody knew if you’re not going to pay Watts, you were going to jail.”

In 2013, Watts was convicted for stealing thousands of dollars from a drug emissary who also happened to be an informant for the FBI, according to another Chicago Tribune report.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Coleman, who was presiding over that case, said, “You were a sergeant operating in a community that should hold you up as an example,” referring to Watts behavior with the people living in the housing complex. She then continued, “You needed to protect those people, and you didn’t.”

Watts was then given a 22-month prison sentence.

Tepfer said that Watts and his team made around 500 arrests between 2003 and 2008, and also mentioned that there are around 24 additional convictions on people who said that they were framed.