IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

EASTERN DIVISION
SHANNON SPALDING AND DANIEL 
ECHEVERRIA 
Plaintiff, 3
V. 3 
City of Chicago, et a1. 3 Judge Fienerman
Defendants. i Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan

AFFIDAVIT OF MICHAEL SPAARGAREN

1, MICHAEL SPAARGAREN, under penalties of perjury as provided by law,
depose and state as follows:

1. I became a Chicago Police Of?cer on October 23, 1995.

2. I was assigned to Public Housing South until the team was broken up
around October of 2000. Sometime thereafter I was assigned to Sgt.
Ronald Watts? narcotics team.

3. While working on Watts? team, one of my duties was to secure the outside
perimeter of the Chicago Housing Authority buildings while Sgt.
Watts and Mohammad, along with other team members, entered the target
location for the purpose of seizing contraband, including drugs and
money, as well as to arresting any targets. My responsibilities included
pursuing any target who attempted to ?ee from the location during a bust.

4. During this assignment, I assisted Sgt. Watts in successfully seizing drugs

and hundreds of thousands of dollars of drug money.

EXHIBIT 
SPALDING 000939

10.

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One day, after a large contraband seizure containing money and drugs,
Sgt. Watts informed the team members that we were free to go home,
while he and Mohammad completed the inventories of the contraband
seized that day.

The next day, I checked the inventory log to see how much money was
seized the night before. I noticed that the inventory log was empty, as if
there had been no bust at all.

I continued to observe this pattern on at least four occasions.

One day I confronted Sgt. Watts about there being no arrests, and no
inventories for money or narcotics entered into the of?cial inventory log
for any of the seizures the team had recently made. Sgt. Watts told me that
half the time he was ?trading up? for information which would lead to
bigger busts and more important narcotics suspects. I replied that no one
was being arrested and that the ?trade?up? information never led to any
future inventories or arrests.

Sgt. Watts began screaming at me: ?Are you accusing me of stealing,
Mickey? Well, fuck you. I?ll put papers on you and make a case on you.
The projects are dangerous, be careful. You won?t make it out alive.?
Then, Sgt. Watts told me that the Commanding Officer, Lt. Jimmy Spratt,
wanted to talk to me.

At that time, I informed Lt. Spratt the missing inventory.

SPALDING 000940

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Lt. Spratt asked me whether I had gone to the Internal Affairs Division
about this, to which I responded I had not, because at first it was
only a suspicion.

Lt. Spratt then told me, ?You?re accusing my Sergeant and a fellow officer
of stealing? Well, I don?t believe you. You should have gone to a
supervisor the same day it happened.? Lt. Spratt also said, ?You know
what? I think you ?re the corrupt one, and that?s why you didn?t go to a
supervisor.?

After I denied being corrupt, Lt. Spratt began yelling and said, ?Pack your
fucking bags, you need to get out of this unit. I?m moving you to another
team tomorrow. And don?t even think about going to IAD now. I can call
anyone and make your life miserable.?

Lt. Spratt continued by saying, ?You better keep your mouth shut. You
don?t want to lose your life over this. If you report a Sergeant to IAD, how
long do you think you will last??

At that point I was in fear for my life because at the time I was still
working in the housing projects doing narcotics under Sgt. Watts.

Not knowing what to do, I decided to go to Chicago Police headquarters to
?ll out paperwork to take a leave of absence.

After I ?lled out the paperwork at headquarters, I went to Public Housing
South to turn in my Leave of Absence papers. Upon arrival, Lt. Spratt was

there waiting for me. He appeared very angry.

DJ

SPALDING 000941

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Lt. Spratt began screaming at me because he thought I went to
headquarters to report Sgt. Watts to IAD. I handed Lt. Spratt my Leave of
Absence papers, and I walked out.

After taking a year?and?a-half long Leave of Absence, I received notice
that I had to return to work, or quit.

I returned to work being assigned to the 022 (Twenty Second) District. I
worked for a couple years with no real issues.

Then, an indictment had come down for Sgt. Watts.

Sometime after Watts? indictment, Shannon Spalding and I began to speak
more frequently in regards to her safety. She con?ded in me that she
feared for her safety and well?being, and suffered threats and retaliation
similar to my situation. I called Shannon frequently to make sure she was
coping with the situation.

Around that time, while I was working, a Sergeant who worked with Sgt.
Watts in the 002 (Second) District approached me and asked how I was.
The Sergeant also told me, ?Tell Shannon Spalding to be careful, and to

park her car in her garage.? He said, ?Because, if these of?cers could put a

pipe bomb under her car, they would.?

FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NOT.

 

 

 

  

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Nata

nmmission Expires Apr 28. 2015

 
 
 

OFFICIAL SEAL
CHRISTOPHER SMITH
ry Public - State of Illinois

 
 

    
   
   
 

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