Chicago cops ‘punished’ for stopping internal affairs chief's car which had DRUGS in it
Some Chicago police officers have been “punished” for pulling over the internal affairs chief's car as a passenger inside was seen trying to discard heroin packets worth $6,300. On February 1, a Lexus, registered in the name of Yolanda Talley, chief of internal affairs, was stopped in the 500 block of North St. Louis Avenue after cops saw the driver making a left turn without using a turn signal.
Officers also witnessed a black-masked man, identified as Kenneth Miles, who was earlier seen carrying a bag near a black SUV and entering the passenger side of the vehicle, now trying to throw the bag containing 84 pink packets of heroin out of the car. It has been reported that the police recovered 42 grams of heroin and also arrested the 34-year-old Miles on drug charges.
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Though Talley was reportedly not driving the car at the time, her niece was behind the wheels and she let officers know about her connections. She reportedly told cops, “My auntie’s probably your boss.” However, Talley’s niece was not arrested since there was no proof she had anything to do with the drugs. She is reportedly in a relationship with Miles and they live together.
As per court records reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, the man is “a reputed member of the Traveling Vice Lords street gang with a lengthy criminal record that includes multiple drug-related arrests, seven of which resulted in convictions.” On February 1, Miles was out on bail in an unrelated felony case for allegedly selling fentanyl. However, he is now held without bond in jail, the Cook County sheriff’s office stated.
After the stop, Lexus was taken to the police department’s Homan Square facility on the West Side. However, it was decided to not impound the vehicle, despite it being the routine procedure, after a discussion among high-ranking police officials. Furthermore, cops reportedly took back the car to the area where Miles was arrested and gave the keys back to Talley’s niece. “Knowing what we know, I don’t think Chief Yolanda Talley had any idea what was going on with her car,” an insider said.
Meanwhile, a day after Miles’ arrest, officers involved in the traffic stop were pulled over the street for training without any explanation. The source said the decision was taken as part of “punishment”. “This was in direct response to this incident,” the source explained while adding the cops will likely return to work next week. The Sun-Times, quoting a high-ranking police official, also mentioned that the decision to “punish” the cops was probably taken by Supt. David Brown, First Deputy Supt. Eric Carter or Chief Ernest Cato, before citing police spokesman Don Terry, who said on Tuesday, February 22 that “the incident involving Talley’s car has been referred to the city’s office of the inspector general. That’s to avoid a conflict of interest because, in her role as chief of internal affairs, Talley is in charge of investigating allegations of misconduct against other officers.”