The Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- A local Crime Stoppers coordinator who released a “10 Most Wanted” list that included six people who were already in jail and one who was dead is no longer wanted by the program.
Springfield police officer Keith Ushman was removed as Crime Stoppers coordinator for Sangamon and Menard counties Thursday, a little more than a week after apologizing for the inaccurate list.
Ushman, a former canine officer who had been in his new position for six months, was reassigned to the midnight shift. Springfield Police Department spokesman Doug Williamson would not comment on whether reassignment was because of the list mixup.
“It’s definitely not a demotion, just a transfer,” Williamson said.
The list was released last month. Afterward, The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reported that six of the fugitives were already in custody -- three with the Illinois Department of Corrections, two in federal prison and one in the Cook County Jail. The paper also reported that one of the four remaining people listed as fugitives had been dead for more than a year.
Ushman apologized for the mistakes, saying they occurred because of a lack of communication between law enforcement agencies.