Puerto Rico Cops Arrested For Kidnapping, Robbery

Authorities in Puerto Rico say they have arrested three police officers who face charges including kidnapping and aggravated robbery in a case involving a Dominican migrant.

The arrest comes just days after a Dominican man complained that officers approached him this week and began to search his car without offering any explanation. He told police officials that the officers then placed him in a patrol car and dropped him elsewhere and took $1,000 in cash from his car.

Police said in a tweet posted Saturday that the officers are being held on $750,000 bond each.

Puerto Rico’s police department is undergoing a 10-year federally mandated reform after a 2011 federal report accused officers of illegal killings, corruption and civil rights violations.

This case comes less than a year after federal authorities arrested 16 current and former Puerto Rican police officers on corruption charges ranging from allegedly taking bribes to protect drug dealers to extortion and planting evidence.

Many of the officers were part of a drug-fighting unit in Puerto Rico’s police department, said Carlos Cases, an FBI special agent.

Cases said the officers allegedly operated like a criminal gang, using their guns and badges to commit robbery, extortion and illegal narcotics sales. He compared their alleged exploits to the 2001 Denzel Washington film, “Training Day,” which centered on a corrupt police narcotics squad.

If convicted, the officers could face up to life in prison for the charges, which include racketeering and robbery.