Former KCKPD Officer Sentenced for Violating Civil Rights Law
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 05, 2012 |
KANSAS CITY, KS—A former officer for the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department has been sentenced to federal prison for stealing electronics from houses where his team served search warrants, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Dustin Sillings, 34, Kansas City, Kansas, was sentenced to eight months.
Sillings pleaded guilty to violating a federal civil rights statute that makes it a crime for police officers acting under color of law to deny or conspire to deny anyone’s civil rights.
Forrest was a member of the KCKPD’s Selective Crime Occurrence Reduction Enforcement Unit (SCORE Unit), which was a special weapons and tactics unit assigned to serve search warrants. In January 2011, investigators for the KCKPD and the FBI set up a sting operation in which the SCORE Unit was sent to a house that was being monitored. Investigators placed cash, electronic games, and other items in the house before the SCORE unit arrived.
In his plea, Sillings admitted stealing $340 in cash from the house. In addition, he admitted taking five or six PlayStation games during prior SCORE search warrants.
Co-defendants are Jeffrey M. Bell, 34, Kansas City, Kansas, who was sentenced to eight months; and Darrell M. Forrest, 32, Kansas City, Kansas, who was sentenced to 12 months and a day.
U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom commended the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department; the FBI; and the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office for their work on the case. Grissom and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt prosecuted the case.