Three cops arrested for perjury, theft, animal cruelty

PENNSYLVANIA -- THREE PHILADELPHIA police officers were charged yesterday in unrelated incidents involving animal cruelty, perjury and theft.

Officer Christopher Hulmes, 42, an 18-year veteran assigned to the narcotics strike force, was charged with perjury, false swearing and related offenses for lying in court and on search-warrant paperwork tied to a 2010 drug case. Philadelphia City Paper first reported the alleged scheme last summer.

Roderick Walton, Christopher Jackson and Christoper Hulmes

Hulmes and his partner arrested two people after a May 7, 2010, drug surveillance near H and Thayer streets, according to District Attorney Seth Williams' office. Hulmes twice testified and made false statements under oath and on the police paperwork in that case, later contending that he had been trying to protect the identity of a drug informant, the D.A.'s Office said. In August, he was put on desk duty at the Differential Police Response Unit, where cops typically go while being investigated by Internal Affairs.

In the second case, Officer Christopher Jackson, 31, a nine-year veteran assigned to North Philly's 25th District, allegedly confiscated a smartphone from a homicide witness - and then kept the phone for his own personal use.

On April 13, 2013, Jackson was taking a witness to police headquarters at 8th and Race streets for an interview with detectives, according to the D.A.'s Office. Jackson allegedly confiscated the witness' Samsung Galaxy S smartphone and never returned it or turned it over to detectives.

Thirteen days later, he took the phone to his local cellphone store and switched it to his account and phone number, according to the D.A.'s Office. Jackson now is on desk duty.

In the third case, Officer Roderick Walton, 50, a 23-year veteran assigned to Germantown's 14th District, is accused of animal cruelty for penning his injured dog in his basement in filth and failing to get the dog veterinary care for a broken leg.

The case started with an anonymous tip about an abused dog that was made last December to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, according to the D.A.'s Office.

A PSPCA officer found an injured Cane Corso named "Bear" in a damp, moldy back basement room, and Walton later admitted his dog's leg had been broken for a week but that he'd been too busy to take him for care, according to the D.A.'s Office.

The dog, who couldn't put weight on his broken leg, was dirty, musty and smelled of urine and mold, and had to be euthanized because of his condition, according to the D.A.'s Office.

Walton abruptly announced his retirement on Twitter Wednesday night, and police confirmed yesterday that he resigned. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey suspended both Hulmes and Jackson for 30 days with intent to dismiss, police said yesterday.

"The vast majority of Philadelphia Police Officers are nothing short of good men and women who are dedicated to protecting the citizens of the City of Philadelphia within the law. Unfortunately, there are a few like these three officers, who have decided to break the law," Williams said in a prepared statement. "Whether it be animal cruelty, perjury, theft or any other crime, our city deserves better than what officers Walton, Hulmes and Jackson have given us."

(Philly.com - April 24, 2015)