Police officers booked for illegal gambling promotion in Dallas

In a bizarre incident, three police officers in Dallas have been nabbed and charged for promoting illegal gambling. The arrests were made after an investigation by the police department’s public integrity unit.

All the three officers surrendered to a local authority. The department identified the officers as Sgt. Shannon Browning, Senior Corporal Edward Van Meter Jr. and Senior Corporal Rogers Williams.

All three have been charged with gambling promotion. Browning was also charged with money laundering and engaging in organised criminal activity.

An email sent to city council members on Wednesday says arrest warrants on the three were the result of an investigation into a Dallas officer who was arrested in December. A criminal investigation into Senior Corporal Edrick Smith found he was involved in “gambling promotion and other criminal activity,” according to an email sent by assistant city manager Jon Fortune.

According to the email, two arrest warrants for Smith were signed Wednesday. Those warrants are related to engaging in organised criminal activity, the email said. According to the email, the agency’s public integrity unit conducted an investigation into Smith that started in February 2015 and ended earlier this month.

Dallas city council member Philip Kingston on Thursday called the three arrests “alarming and embarrassing.”

“That’s a bad look for any city,” he said.

Dwaine Caraway, the city’s mayor pro tem, said Dallas police chief U. Renee Hall has taken a bold stance on eradicating crime, even if the criminal activity occurs within the department she oversees.

Caraway said he was “disappointed and shocked” when he heard news of the charges and described it as a sad situation. Yet, he said the arrests are a step towards restoring faith and trust with citizens.

Dallas police on Thursday said the three officers are on administrative leave, but the agency declined to provide further information on the arrests. All three officers were also assigned to the department’s SWAT unit, police said.

Source: startribune.com