Several Chicago cops stripped of powers as part of drug rip-off probe

Several Chicago police officers, including a sergeant, have been stripped of their police powers amid a federal criminal investigation of drug dealer rip-offs, sources said.

None of the officers has been charged in the ongoing investigation.

A source familiar with the investigation said an informant notified federal authorities that the officers were robbing drug dealers.

A Chicago police spokesman declined to confirm the investigation but issued the following statement:

“Integrity and accountability are paramount to the Chicago Police Department and we work hard everyday to build and safeguard public trust. To that end, we can not comment on any investigation — internal or otherwise — until or unless criminal charges are filed,” CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

CPD has grappled with similar scandals in the past. Most recently, Sgt. Ronald Watts was sentenced in October 2013 to nearly two years in prison for shaking down drug dealers in a wide-ranging extortion scam. Fellow officer Kallatt Mohammed was sentenced to 18 months for his role.

Such cases inevitably lead to reviews of the officers’ past cases — like last year’s mass exoneration of 15 men with cases tied to Watts — and expensive lawsuits with the potential for big-time verdicts or settlements.