Seven members of the New York Police Department have been arrested for allegedly protecting a prostitution and gambling ring, according to U.S. media reports.
The officers, who ranged in rank from sergeant to patrol officer, were questioned by internal investigators on Wednesday, the New York Daily News first reported.
Two other detectives were forced to surrender their weapons and badges and put on modified duty, but weren’t criminally charged.
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The arrest was the culmination of a three-year-long investigation which began after an officer reported prostitution and gambling links within the police department in 2015, according to NBC New York.
NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill told CBS that the accused cops “swore an oath and then betrayed it,” adding that the arrests showed that the department had zero tolerance for criminal and unethical behaviour.
“The people of this department are rightly held to the highest standard, and should they fail to meet it, the penalty will be swift and severe,” O’Neill said.
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