Judge vacates more convictions linked to former Chicago cop

By DON BABWIN
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — A judge has thrown out 44 more convictions tied to a notorious former Chicago police sergeant who regularly framed people for drug crimes they didn’t commit. Victim advocates say the exonerations Friday would be among the last from one of the most disgraceful chapters in the department’s history. The dismissals bring to more than 170 Black defendants who have seen their drug convictions in cases tied to former Sgt. Ronald Watts and his tactical unit dismissed in recent years. Watts and another officer pleaded guilty in 2013 to stealing money from an FBI informant and Watts was sentenced to 22 months in prison.