Seven Atlanta area police officers, two former DeKalb County, Ga., jailers, and a federal contract officer are accused of being part of a group of law enforcement officers who allegedly served as bodyguards for agents posing as drug dealers, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “What's most egregious was they were doing it behind the badge, which makes it worse in my book,” said Forest Park Police Chief Dwayne Hobbs. “It was sickening to think that two weeks ago I trusted those guys. And to some extent it makes you look around and say, 'Who else?' “
An examination by the Journal-Constitution of affidavits, court files, and interviews with police officials shows that several of the officers arrested last week were eager to be corrupted. Last week's charges were shocking. Officers often guarded the illicit transactions while in uniform, sometimes even using their patrol cars as a bonus. Payments ranged from several hundred to a few thousand dollars. Some eagerly helped plot the operations, gave suggestions to make them go more smoothly and even talked about the stark possibility they might have to shoot someone.