CHICAGO – An officer with the Chicago Police Department has been suspended and arrested after she allegedly reported a bogus story of her being the victim of an armed robbery in which she claimed $5,000 was taken.
Zondranika Williams, 37, was identified as the CPD officer who was charged with felony disorderly conduct and false report of an offense at a court hearing on Thursday, CBS News Chicago reported.
Williams was arrested and suspended from her position earlier this week after fabricating a series of lies about being victimized by an armed suspect while she was off duty.
According to prosecutors, Williams called 911 on Sept. 23 claiming she had been robbed of $5,000 cash. She alleged the armed robbery occurred in the alley by her garage in South Wabash. Williams told the emergency dispatcher her name and that she was a police officer but not on duty at the time of the purported offense.
Williams provided specific details of the alleged crime, including suspect information several times. She claimed the gunman ordered her to surrender her valuable items by saying, “Give me everything you got!”
Although Williams told police her surveillance cameras were inoperative, her hoax later unraveled when officers obtained surveillance video from a neighbor.
The neighbor’s security video showed the off-duty officer taking a duffel bag out of her car and then walking in and out of camera view. No one else ever appeared on-screen when she claimed the crime occurred, prosecutors said.
Moreover, in the surveillance video, she was also seen wearing a different shirt than the one she had on when officers arrived at her home to take the crime report.
Seven days after Williams filed the criminal allegations, police said her claims were fabricated. She surrendered for arrest on Tuesday and was “relieved of police powers” later that day, a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department told Fox News Digital.
Williams is an eight-year police veteran who worked in the 1st District as a patrol officer, reported CBS Chicago. It is unclear what motivated her to file the crime report.
Her attorney told the news outlet that he looks forward to defending her in court.
