Benton Harbor narcotics chief pleads guilty to conspiracy

The former supervisor of the Benton Harbor Police Department Narcotics Unit has pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges.

In a guilty plea signed Aug. 25, Bernard Hall Jr., chief of the Benton Harbor Police Department’s Narcotics Unit from 2006-2008, admitted that he conspired with Officer Andrew Thomas Collins to carry out unreasonable searches and deprive people of their property and their freedom.

As the supervisor of the narcotics unit Bernard Hall Jr. was in charge of all controlled buys of narcotics from suspects, search warrants, arrests, property seizures and departmental buy and informant funds; Officer Andrew Thomas Collins was under his supervision.

In his plea Hall admitted that he and Collins made up information about drug activities and used the false information to secure search warrants and then arrest and steal from innocent people. The two fabricated police reports and submitted drugs they’d seized from others as evidence against innocent people.

The indictment lists a July 18, 2006 incident in which Collins and Hall stole gold jewelry from an arrested suspect. It also detailed six cases in which the pair knowingly submitted false information in order to obtain warrants to search Benton Harbor residences.

Hall also admitted that he lied when a grand jury asked him about his knowledge of crimes by Officer Collins and he testified that he had “never seen him (Collins) plant dope on somebody. I’ve never seen him take money from anybody.”

Collins has admitted his participation in the conspiracy and is serving time in federal prison on a felony drug conviction.

Hall now faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

As part of the plea agreement with Hall the U.S. Attorney’s office agreed not to bring additional corruption charges.

Rev. Edward Pinkney, a community activist in Benton Harbor who has spent years observing and criticizing the Berrien County criminal justice system, said he was not surprised by the corrupt behavior described in this case.

“This is just another story of out of control cops using age old methods of harassment, physical abuse, racism, fear mongering and evidence planting,” he said via e-mail, “I started complaining about the police officers PLANTING drugs on Benton Harbor residents in the year 2002.”

Pinkney said that hundreds of families in Benton Harbor have been destroyed as a result of police corruption and that he believes the wrongdoing reaches high into the local power structure.

Benton Harbor has just over 11,000 residents, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, and more than 40 percent of them have income below the poverty level. Many of those accused of crimes in Benton Harbor cannot afford to hire lawyers and the ACLU of Michigan has pointed out that Berrien County spends four times as much on prosecution as it does on defense.

Benton Harbor Police Chief Al Mingo refused to comment on whether the police department has instituted any changes in response to problems with it’s narcotics unit.

Mingo referred all questions on the matter to the FBI.