FORMER DETROIT POLICE OFFICER SENTENCED FOR EXTORTION

Acting United States Attorney Terrence Berg announced today that former Detroit Police Officer Aaron Scott, 25 of Southfield, was sentenced today to serve 2 years under the supervision of the federal court, the first 6 months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons and the second 6 months on home confinement, and to pay $200 restitution, upon his conviction for extorting money from a citizen under color of law. Berg was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena, Federal Bureau of Investigation. The sentence was imposed by the Honorable David

M. Lawson. On August 25, 2008, Scott’s partner, Brandon Allen, was given the same sentence after having pleaded guilty to extorting money from a citizen under color of law, in violation of the Hobbs Act. The evidence adduced at the two guilty plea hearings established that on October 19, 2007, while they were on duty with the Detroit Police Department and assigned to the Tactical Services Section, Allen and Scott extorted funds from a clerk at the convenience store inside the Marathon Gas Station located at West Warren and the Jeffries Freeway in the City of Detroit by threatening to arrest him if he did not pay them. The in-store video from that night shows the clerk chased a group of troublemakers out of the store by brandishing a shotgun; the clerk immediately came back inside the store, put the shotgun away, and continued to wait on customers. The video shows that moments later, Allen and Scott came into the store with guns drawn, ordered the clerk from behind the counter, placed him in handcuffs, and talked to him. According to their guilty pleas, the two men told the clerk he could face various legal troubles as a result of his actions, but he could avoid going to jail by paying them cash. The video shows the officers then removed the handcuffs, and the clerk took money from the cash register of the gas station and handed it to one of the officers. The officers left, and made no note of the event in their DPD activity log. Acting United States Attorney Terrence Berg said, “Extortionate conduct by a police officer harms not only the victim who is shaken down, but also the larger community of citizens, whose confidence in law enforcement is also shaken. Our office will pursue such cases with appropriate vigor.” The case was investigated by special agents of the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cynthia Oberg.