Ex-Cop Guilty in Gang Crimes

A former Atlanta police “officer of the year” indicted 17 months ago on federal racketeering charges pleaded guilty to association with a notorious drug gang.

David Alan Freeman, 39, entered a plea late Monday before U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell to a civil rights violation as a lieutenant in the Diablos gang in northwest Atlanta’s police Zone 1, according to U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias.

{snip}

U.S. Attorney’s spokesman Patrick Crosby said Freeman admitted by his plea that he participated with the gang’s activities, including crimes such as robbery and narcotics trafficking.

The civil rights violation, Crosby said, involved misusing his authority as an officer by aiding in the abduction of a rival gang member who was severely beaten.

{snip}