Chicago officer sues over placement on desk duty since 2009

CHICAGO (AP) - A Chicago police officer placed on desk duty while being investigated for corruption has filed a federal lawsuit saying his constitutional rights have been violated.

Thomas Sherry was suspended without pay in 2006 after being accused of robbing drug dealers and law-abiding citizens of cash and property.

The charges against Sherry were dropped in 2009 after evidence emerged victims misidentified him. He was then placed on paid desk duty. Sherry has been named in several lawsuits filed against the city of Chicago.

Sherry's lawsuit alleges investigators from the department's Bureau of Internal Affairs have never tried to interrogate him since 2013 when the U.S. attorney's office turned over evidence to the department after prosecuting other officers.

Chicago Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey declined to discuss the allegations in the lawsuit.