FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Two Fort Lauderdale police officer were arrested Thursday, accused of stealing money and pills from pain clinic clients.
The Broward State Attorney's Office said officers Brian Christopher Dodge and Billy Charles Koepke face at least 17 counts each, including charges of racketeering, kidnapping, grand theft, extortion and official misconduct. Dodge also faces charges of forgery and perjury.
Prosecutors said the officers would conduct traffic stops, sometimes without probable cause and often outside their jurisdiction, to search cars for money or pills. If the people in the cars had a large amount of cash, prosecutors said Dodge and Koepke would fabricate criminal charges in order to steal it.
When they arrested a person, prosecutors said, the officers would keep a portion of the pills and money and put the rest into evidence.
Dodge and Koepke turned themselves in to the Broward County Jail on Thursday night.
If convicted, both detectives could face a maximum of 100 years in prison.