There is nothing worse than a police officer trying to take advantage of a system that’s meant to keep people safe.  You can say whatever you want about master criminals, but anyone who betrays the code of the badge for a quick buck deserves whatever book can be thrown at him.

I’m talking about this report, surrounding the arrest of three current and former police chiefs in Louisiana who reportedly sold fake police reports to immigrants who were looking for visas.

Chandrakant “Lala” Patel faces the worst of the charges, including conspiracy, bribery, over 24 (!) counts of mail fraud, and eight county of money-laundering.  Current Oakdale police chief Chad Doyle and Ward 5 marshal Michael “Freck” Slaney were also charged, along with former Forest Hill Police chief Glynn Dixon and former Glenmora Police chief Tebo Onishea.

These suspects do have a right to their day in court, to prove their innocence.  But this has been an operation that’s been running for a long time.  In fact, almost ten years.

In a nutshell, the group reportedly made fake reports about these immigrants acting as victims of armed robberies in an effort to allow them to apply for U-Visas, which allow crime victims to stay within the United States.

That’s absolutely preposterous, isn’t it?

U.S. attorney Alec Van Hook, of Louisiana’s Western District, explained something that tipped off the investigation.

“There was an unusual concentration of armed robberies,” he noted.  “A large number of people that were not from Louisiana in some of our smaller communities.”  He also made it clear that a number of these robberies “never took place.”

Authorities noted that these police chiefs reportedly received $5,000 for each person listed on each police report, and the turnaround for U-Visas for them to remain within the country.

There are a few takeaways from this.

First off, this is just a bad name on police, period.  Someone’s bound to look at this and go, “Well, I knew it — police officers are corrupt.”

More often than not, police officers are painted as “bad apples,” mainly due to statements from suspects that perceive them as racist or believe they’re acting on their own accord.  I can assure you that this is not the case.

Save for some of these “bad apples,” a majority of these police officers are actually very good people — hardworking, dedicated men and women working to keep innocent people safe.  Period.  Most of the time, suspects are fabricating the truth just to save their own skin.

But this just ties a knot in my stomach.  Here are police chiefs — put in charge of departments, mind you — that decided to make a profit off people using illegal means to remain within this country.  That is not what police code is all about.  And if these allegations end up being true, I hope they go to jail for some time, in an effort to learn their lesson.

There’s another takeaway from this that’s equally disturbing.  We have a crisis within the United States surrounding illegal aliens, some of whom are partaking in additional criminal activity.

Obviously, President Donald Trump, border czar Tom Homan, and hundreds of thousands of ICE agents are doing their part to make sure these criminals are sent back to their home countries.  They’re doing an outstanding job thus far.

But when United States citizens — ones empowered with police duties — try to take advantage of the system in an effort to make some money, it just doesn’t sit well at all.  It seems like a betrayal of everything we stand for.

However, Van Hook wanted to make it clear that, despite the reported actions of these chiefs, that does not mean their departments are corrupt.  And yes, good men and women still serve within these departments.  “We are not alleging that these are corrupt police departments.”

With that, I just believe that the investigation, ongoing with several departments, should leave no stone unturned.  And if these chiefs are in fact guilty of what they’re being charged with, I hope the punishment fits the crime.

Just remember, everyone: The actions of a few “bad apples” do not equate the police as a whole.  Again, the majority out there are people just like you and me, getting their job done.

Don’t let the “bad apples” spoil your idea of what law enforcement is all about.  It isn’t the case at all.

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