Two Detroit police officers charged with theft, misconduct
DETROIT (WJBK) - The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced on Tuesday that two officers have been charged with almost 20 counts including theft and misconduct.
Charles Lynem, 28, and Chancellor Searcy, 31, will be arraigned on several charges of theft and misconduct in office. The two officers have been suspended from the police department.
Detroit police Chief James Craig says both officers are suspended without pay after being notified late Monday and turning themselves in Tuesday morning. Chief Craig says the 7-year-veterans had been suspended with pay for roughly a year, pending an independent investigation by the prosecutor’s office.
After the two were arraigned, Prosecutor Kym Worthy released more details on the duo.
The first allegations stem from a March 2013 arrest. The Prosecutor's Office said the two arrested a 33-year-old man at a Detroit gas station. During that arrest, Worthy said there were questions about the detention, frisk, seizure of property, and the arrest itself. For that incident, they were charged with embezzlement of less than $20,000, larceny, misconduct, and false report of a felony.
Searcy was charged again for an August 2014 arrest. The office said Officer Searcy stopped a 28-year-old man on August 4 and confiscated a sum of money. The man went to the 10th Precinct and filed a formal complaint against Searcy the same day. He was charged Tuesday with larceny, misconduct, and failure to uphold the law.
Just six days later, the office said Searcy again stopped and patted down a man and removed money from his pocket. The man also made a formal complaint and Searcy was charged for that incident for the same crimes: larceny, misconduct, and failure to uphold the law.
The final incident listed in Tuesday's charges happened in September 2014 and the prosecutor's office said both officers were involved. Worthy said the two fabricated the circumstances and documentation surrounding the arrest of a 41-year-old man for carrying a concealed weapon. For that incident, they were charged with misconduct in office, false report of a felony, and willful failure of a public official.
"Whenever an officer is accused of misconduct it is certainly a dark day for the department," said Detroit police Chief James Craig.
Both officers are suspended from the police force and received a $10,000 bond after being arraigned. They'll be back in court on November 3 for a probable cause and the preliminary exam will be on November 10.