Pennsylvania cop tried to buy cocaine from informant and still hasn't been fired

A police officer in south-central Pennsylvania has been arrested for trying to buy cocaine from an informant, WFIN reported on Friday.

"Justin Thomas Taylor, 28, was arrested by the Cumberland County Drug Task Force for allegedly attempting to possess cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia," said the report. "According to a release from the Cumberland County District Attorney’s office, Taylor is a member of the Harrisburg Police Department, and he was arrested as part of a drug enforcement operation run by the Dauphin County and Cumberland County Drug Task Forces."

"Task force members became aware of Taylor on Feb. 16 when they executed a search warrant in Cumberland County," said the report. "The officers discovered that a police officer may be a customer of a person who they were investigating for selling illegal drugs. On Feb. 19, an informant told the task force that Taylor would be showing up at a particular time and place to purchase cocaine. Once Taylor took possession of the cocaine, he was arrested by the task force, the DA’s office said."

According to the report, Taylor has not been terminated by the police department as of press time — but he has been suspended, pending investigation.

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Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack called the arrest "extremely disappointing," and said "It is a complete betrayal by the officer of the trust the public placed in him to uphold the law, not break it. Personally, I remember teaching this officer when he was brand new at the police academy."

Corrupt police officers can do massive damage to public safety and trust when they become involved with illegal drugs. In one extreme case last year, a Puerto Rican officer was sentenced to 30 years for participating in a murder-for-hire plot on behalf of a trafficking organization that shipped drugs to a daycare.