The allegations include misconduct ranging from lying in police reports and making false arrests to assaulting a prostitute – and in this case, both the accusers and the accused wear the same Dallas police uniform.

At least one law enforcement expert says the unusual "blue on blue" complaints could be a critical turning point for the department of Police Chief David Kunkle, who has been working to improve the department's image and accountability.

Chief Kunkle on Tuesday appointed a special panel of five lieutenants, including one who worked on the city's investigation into the 2001 fake-drugs scandal, to independently question officers on the matter.

The three officers who were working the overnight shift in the central Dallas police division – Senior Cpls. Al Schoelen, Jeffrey "Jack" Nelson and Timothy Stecker – have been temporarily transferred as investigators sort through a web of accusations.

Cpl. Nelson declined to comment. Cpl. Stecker could not be reached for comment. Cpl. Schoelen declined to comment through his wife, who said the allegations against the three men are false.

Although police are investigating the conduct of the three officers, it is possible that there will be no findings of wrongdoing.

Chief Kunkle said the special panel would also look at whether some of the problems have arisen because some officers simply don't like the hard-charging style of the trio.

"At Central, the vast majority of officers don't like working around these three guys," Chief Kunkle said. "They don't like their gruff style."

Among the complaints are accusations:

• That a nearly 29-year veteran officer used pepper spray and assaulted a handcuffed woman who simply talked back to him.

• That another 28-year veteran officer arrested a man for obstructing a road, even though the man was crossing the street in a crosswalk.

• That a nearly 20-year veteran officer falsely arrested a man for evading and resisting arrest and assaulting an officer after police went to a woman's home to break up an argument.

Policing experts say the department needs to take the accusations seriously because it's extremely rare for police officers to publicly accuse another officer of misconduct.

"This is going to define the character of the department," said Sam Walker, a civilian oversight expert and emeritus professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

"If, in fact, he is right that people are being arrested when they have done nothing wrong, that is pretty serious. If you allow that for little stuff, it's like a cancer: It can expand to the bigger stuff."

The allegations of misconduct on the part of the three veteran officers have triggered at least three internal investigations and a public integrity inquiry.

"We're looking at supervisory-management issues, as well as officer conduct issues," Chief Kunkle said. "I don't really know where this is going to take us."

Cindy Schoelen, a civilian supervisor in the police property room, said she believes the allegations against her husband are the result of a feud with Officer Nick Novello, a 24-year police veteran who made the first complaints about the trio.

She said Officer Novello is retaliating against her husband for getting him in trouble with a supervisor.

"He's unstable," she said. "[Officer Novello] has serious anger-management issues. This is the only way he knows how to discredit the top three officers."

Officer Novello denied the accusations.

"You've got three rogue officers who work without probable cause and make arrest after arrest," he said. "You have a failure to supervise over I don't know how many years."

Officer Novello says that on July 12, Cpl. Schoelen arrested male prostitute Richard Socolof, now 25, and accused him of obstructing a passageway when he blocked a street, a Class B misdemeanor. Officer Novello said Mr. Socolof was simply crossing the street in a crosswalk and did nothing wrong.

He says he told a supervisor immediately after the arrest, but nothing was done. An internal-affairs investigation has been opened into the incident.

Brian O'Shea, an attorney who represented Mr. Socolof in the case, said he would probably file a writ seeking to overturn his conviction.

"Depending on how widespread this is, it could be a real problem for the city," Mr. O'Shea said.

After supervisors began asking questions about that and other incidents, they learned that Officer Sean Hensley, a seven-year veteran with a clean disciplinary record, witnessed a questionable incident in August involving Cpl. Nelson and a prostitute who was suspected of being intoxicated.

Officer Hensley told supervisors that Cpl. Nelson became so angry with the handcuffed woman when she argued with him that he grabbed her hair, pepper-sprayed her and then pulled her out of the backseat of the squad car by her hair. She then fell face down onto the concrete.

Officer Hensley told supervisors that the woman was not being combative during the arrest in the 2500 block of North Fitzhugh Street. Cpl. Stecker was present during the incident. It was referred to the department's internal-affairs division Tuesday after The News inquired about it.

"The minute you've got an officer saying, 'I was there,' " the incident should have been referred to internal affairs, Chief Kunkle said.

On Nov. 3, Officer Novello, Cpl. Stecker and two other officers responded to a call at an Oak Lawn address where a woman was screaming for help while arguing with a man. Jeremy Greenwalt, then 24, was taken into custody for resisting arrest, evading arrest and felony assault on a peace officer.

Officer Novello, who was at the scene of the arrest, later saw the police report filed by a rookie police officer being trained by Cpl. Stecker. Officer Novello told his superiors that Mr. Greenwalt did not break any of the laws he was accused of breaking.

"The entire arrest report was fraudulent," he said.

The police report said Officer Ramon Rojas had been the victim of a felony assault – that Mr. Greenwalt intentionally kicked Officer Rojas "in the right thigh twice," hurting him and causing him to fall backward.

But Officer Ramos later told police commanders that he did not believe he had been intentionally kicked and that he did not fall backward. A Dallas County grand jury declined to indict Mr. Greenwalt for felony assault.

Mr. Greenwalt received deferred adjudication probation on the misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and evading arrest. He did not return calls seeking comment.

The Police Department's public-integrity unit is looking into matter.

On Feb. 24, Cpl. Stecker and a rookie police officer arrested two women for public intoxication in the Lower Greenville area. Officer Novello, who was present at the scene, said the women were not intoxicated.

"He snatched them arbitrarily off the street," he said. "He made an illegal arrest."

The women could not be reached for comment.

Officer Novello complained to his superiors about the arrests. He is now under internal investigation because Cpl. Stecker accused him of interfering with those arrests and causing a disturbance when the two officers argued.

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