Lieutenant David Hansberry, 34, and Officer Bryan Watson, 46, were indicted Wednesday on charges of robbing drug dealers and stealing drugs and money obtained in police searches.
“The vast majority of the men and women of the Detroit Police Department are honest and hard-working, but these defendants betrayed their oath and their fellow officers,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig said in a statement.
The indictment, unsealed on Thursday, charges Hansberry and Watson with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, multiple counts of interference with commerce by robbery and extortion, possession with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and drug trafficking crimes.
A third defendant, Kevlin Omar Brown, 45, was also charged with one count of interference with commerce by robbery and extortion.