2 Chicago Police officers accused of sex assault

Chicago Police said Thursday they were investigating allegations that two on-duty officers picked up a crying woman in their squad car this week and at least one of them sexually assaulted her.

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Police said Thursday they were investigating allegations that two on-duty officers picked up a crying woman in their squad car this week and at least one of them sexually assaulted her.

Interim Police Superintendent Terry Hillard said the two veteran officers were placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of criminal and internal investigations after accusations surfaced about the incident that allegedly happened early Wednesday morning.

"I have to express my extreme disappointment and outrage (of) such accusations against members of this department," said Hillard, who promised that, should the allegations be proven, "these officers will fully be held accountable and punished."

Hillard would not disclose details of the investigation, but a police official told The Associated Press that according to the police report, the veteran officers were driving on the city’s North Side early Wednesday when they spotted a 22-year-old woman on the street. The woman was crying and appeared to have been drinking when she accepted a ride home from the officers, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report had not been made public.

The woman told officers that she had sex with one of the officers in the front passenger seat of the marked Chevy Tahoe SUV and then went to her apartment where all three played strip poker and she had sex with one of them, according to the report.

At one point, according to the official, the report says that the woman told police that she became frightened and ran out of her apartment. A neighbor heard her screaming and called 911, the official said.

Hillard said the officers were arrested, but had not been charged as of Thursday afternoon. He said the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office has been notified and evidence was being processed.

"What they allegedly did was inappropriate and it was against the law and that’s what we’re investigating," he said.

The department has been plagued over the years by complaints of misconduct, but the numbers of such allegations fell sharply under former Superintendent Jody Weis, whose contract expired a few weeks ago. Weis, who took the job in 2008, was given an ultimatum by Mayor Richard Daley to clean up a department marred by embarrassing acts by several police officers, including beatings caught on tape.

Weis left the job even though Daley had asked him to stay until Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel takes office in May and names a new superintendent.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

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