BROOKLYN, Ill. (AP) — A southern Illinois prosecutor says he is no longer taking cases from a troubled village police force targeted in a recent state police raid.
St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly on Wednesday outlined a host of problems in the Brooklyn Police Department, from improper evidence storage to reports of drunken officers pulling weapons on civilians at local bars.
Kelly says the small police department “does not meet even the minimal standards of credibility and reliability for prosecution.”
Illinois State Police and St. Clair sheriff’s deputies confiscated weapons, computers and documents in a March 25 raid. The village police chief and four other officers have since resigned, leaving only a handful of officers on the payroll.
Prosecutors have dismissed 21 Brooklyn criminal cases involving drug possession, weapons violations and other offenses.
