Rogue East Cleveland Cops Framed Dozens of Drug Suspects

Three police officers are in prison after robbing and framing drug suspects in East Cleveland, Ohio, but authorities are still unwinding the damage this rogue street-crimes unit brought, NBC News reported.

They were busted after raiding the home of a Cleveland drug dealer and saying in a search warrant that an informant had recently bought crack cocaine there. But the man had surveillance cameras that proved the officers were lying, which the FBI used to uncover a scandal that has led to 22 drug cases being dismissed — so far.

"I always took it on the chin when I got arrested for something I know I did. But when a cop lies to get you in prison, that's a different story," said Kenneth Blackshaw, one of the people who had a conviction overturned.

The Cleveland-area victims are among thousands of people cleared in group exonerations involving police graft in the last three decades nationwide, from California to Texas to New Jersey.

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