A District of Columbia police officer faces charges of robbing prostitutes' customers at gunpoint.
Authorities say Warren Pindell, a nine-year Metropolitan Police Department veteran, was arrested Dec. 29 and charged with two counts of armed robbery. He's accused of robbing men sitting in cars with prostitutes Dec. 13 on Farragut St. NW and on 7th St. NW Dec. 31, APBNews.com reports. He's said to have stolen $250 from one man and over $100 from the others.
Police say the 30-year-old officer was in uniform both times but not on duty, in a case said to have shocked police in the nation's capital.
APBNews says police learned of the robberies when one victim reported he'd been with a prostitute when a police officer held him up. A second victim reported a similar holdup. Investigators found the prostitutes, APBNews says, and were led to Pindell.
Pindell surrendered at the Fourth District station to which he is assigned and is on administrative leave, APBNews says.
"He disappointed us, to say the least," Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance Gainer tells the online crime news service. "He dishonored the uniform, abused the oath and battered the badge. If there is any good news in all of this, it's that our officers made the case and made the arrest. This shows we're capable of cleaning up the trash in our own department."
