Indictment: Ex-cop stole money in traffic stops

A DeKalb County grand jury has indicted a former police officer accused of working with drug dealers to rip off their competitors.

Lori Monique Johnson, 33, is charged with racketeering and violating the oath of office in the indictment announced Friday. She is accused of using traffic stops to confiscate money from dealers and then turning the money over to her co-conspirators instead of the county police department. The charges are related to a series of stops between April 29, 2014, and March 13, 2015. The indictment alleges Johnson, who resigned in October while under investigation, staged two traffic stops involving other unsuspecting drug dealers and “seized” their cash.

“Legitimately forfeited funds should have been turned over to the DeKalb Police Department,” the county district attorney’s office said in a news release. “Instead, Johnson is accused of diverting those funds to her drug dealer partners, who in turn, paid her for performing the fake traffic stops and making the fake seizures.”

Another time, the cop allegedly responded to another officer’s stop and stole money, according to the DA’s office, which worked with the FBI on the case.

In a statement, the police department said its officers have been cooperating with the investigation from the beginning. Officials haven’t said how the inquiry got started two years after the alleged crimes.

“The reprehensible actions of Ms. Johnson are unacceptable and do not reflect the high standards of the DeKalb County Police Department,” chief James Conroy said. “Her actions tarnish the reputations and service which is demonstrated by our honorable law enforcement officers each and every day.”

Johnson was released on bond Friday, jail records showed.

She couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on a listed phone number.