By John Diedrich and Gina Barton of the Journal Sentinel
A Milwaukee police detective charged with lying to an FBI
agent has applied for duty disability retirement, saying the stress of being
investigated, arrested and strip-searched has left him unable to be a police
officer, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has learned.
Willie Huerta has been on paid suspension since May, as the
department conducts an internal investigation into allegations the longtime
detective intervened to protect a drug dealer when he was stopped by Milwaukee
officers.
Huerta, 40, filed an application for duty disability in
July, contending he is totally disabled because of psychological and physical
injuries resulting from the investigation, according to his application filed
with the Employees' Retirement System.
"As a result of the duty-incurred injuries as described
above, I can no longer perform the essential duties or functions of a city of
Milwaukee police officer, detective or any position in a limited-duty
capacity," the application statement said.
If his application is approved, Huerta could be paid by the
city for the rest of his life. In most cases, duty disability provides such
retirees with 75% of their salaries, tax-free. His 2012 salary, including
overtime, was more than $85,000.
Huerta was first charged in May with obstruction of justice,
on allegations of helping the suspected drug dealer get out of a traffic stop.
That charge was dropped two weeks later without explanation by the prosecutor.
Last month, Huerta was indicted on a count of lying to the
FBI during questioning related to the same case.
Martin Kohler, whose firm is representing Huerta, declined
to comment. Huerta did not return calls.
Huerta is one of at least five officers who have applied for
or received duty disability during or after a disciplinary investigation since
2006, the Journal Sentinel found.
After the investigation by the Journal Sentinel, the board
of the city's Employees' Retirement System approved a series of changes
intended to make it harder for officers charged or under investigation to be
approved for duty disability.
And an opinion from the city attorney's office said officers
already receiving the benefit may lose it if their applications include
potentially misleading information believed to be ghostwritten by "a
retired police detective" — a reference to former union boss and felon
Bradley DeBraska, who is known to have assisted at least 18 officers with their
applications.
Large portions of Huerta's application are identical to
other applications written by DeBraska. Huerta ends his statement by writing
that because of his "psychological trauma and my mental state, I required
a retired detective" to help with the statement.
Huerta's application remains under review, according to
Jerry Allen, executive director of the Employees' Retirement System.
"This application is being evaluated by the city
attorney, in light of the city attorney's opinion," Allen said.
Applications filed
Huerta is on full suspension — with no police powers,
department gun or badge — as an internal investigation continues, said Lt. Mark
Stanmeyer, Milwaukee police spokesman. Huerta continues to be paid, as required
under state law. His most recent assignment was in the department's sensitive
crimes unit.
Even if Huerta is fired or convicted, he still may be able
to get duty disability pay, because his application was filed while he was
still an employee and before the retirement system instituted the rule changes.
As an example, former Officer Dwight Copeland didn't show up
for work for the equivalent of half of his 14 years on the force and was
disciplined two dozen times for misconduct. Copeland was fired for lying about
an application claiming he was disabled because of a shoulder injury and
stress. His duty disability retirement was able to be approved last year
because he filed it before he was fired.
The rule changes also may not stop other officers who
applied for duty disability while they were being investigated. Rodolfo Gomez
Jr., who was fired from the department for hitting a handcuffed prisoner and
faces a felony charge over the incident, also has applied for duty disability.
Gomez has pleaded not guilty and is set to go to trial in May.
In a letter, Police Chief Edward Flynn wrote that he thinks
Gomez submitted a fraudulent application for duty disability retirement and is
not entitled to the benefit.
Gomez's application also is under review by the city
attorney, Allen said.
Traffic stop in 2011
Huerta was hired by the Police Department in 1996 and worked
in undercover drug operations. In 2006, he became a detective and later worked
on a joint drug task force with federal agents.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Huerta protected
Julio Cruz by intervening in a traffic stop of a tow truck in January 2011. The
stop ended with Cruz — allegedly a confidential informant for Huerta — and the
driver of the truck being released without the truck being searched, even
though it smelled like marijuana, the complaint says.
Records attached to the complaint show several calls were
made between Cruz's phone and Huerta's phone at the time of the traffic stop.
In the complaint, another detective told FBI agents that
informants are often stopped, and he would not ask for such a stop to be halted
because "additional charges on an informant would just make the individual
more motivated to work and be a better informant."
In his duty disability statement, Huerta wrote that he
received a call from Cruz's cousin during the traffic stop of the tow truck.
Huerta said he called the uniformed police officer doing the stop "to
advise the officer that the HIDTA (federal drug task force) unit was
investigating the driver of the tow truck for serious crimes."
Huerta's disability statement did not indicate whether he
told the uniformed officer what to do about the situation. He said he later
learned that two undercover officers arrived at the traffic stop, and they were
the ones who asked the uniformed officer to let the men in the tow truck go.
An informant later told FBI agents that Huerta was
protecting Cruz, helping him get out of traffic stops and providing inside
information.
Huerta said in his statement that the man gave unreliable
information to the FBI.
Cruz has pleaded guilty to drug counts in federal court. He
is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
A visit from the FBI
On May 1 of last year, Huerta said he was putting his trash
outside his house when he heard the sound of tires racing. A half-dozen FBI
agents and Milwaukee police officers rushed up to him. They searched his house
and took his department gun, badge and keys, his disability statement says.
Huerta was questioned at FBI offices for 21/2 hours and he
said he chose to answer questions, without calling a lawyer.
According to the indictment, it was during this interview
that Huerta told an FBI agent that "J.C. Jr." had never been his
informant while he worked at the Milwaukee Police Department and he had never
paid "J.C. Jr." for information.
"The statement and representation were false because,
as Huerta then and there knew, he paid J.C. Jr. $300 in official funds on or
about Sept. 16, 2010, for information provided by J.C. Jr. during an official
investigation," the indictment says.
Lying to a federal agent can bring a maximum penalty of five
years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Twitter: twitter.com/john_diedrich
