AURORA | The Aurora Police Department referred a former officer for criminal charges after an internal investigation found that he took narcotics obtained as evidence and used them off-duty, police said in a social media post.
On Facebook on Wednesday, the police department announced that former officer Michael Gallagher resigned in lieu of termination and shared some details of its internal investigation. It found several policy violations, including substance abuse, tampering with evidence and knowingly making untruthful statements during an investigation.
The investigation determined that on June 26 Gallagher took narcotics he had collected as evidence during a traffic stop while on duty and later ingested them while driving home from his shift, which caused him to “become incapacitated in his vehicle on the highway in Commerce City.”
The police department referred Gallagher to the 18th Judicial District for criminal charges and to the Colorado Peace Officers Standards and Training office, which oversees law enforcement credentials in the state.
The 18th Judicial District confirmed that it has opened a criminal investigation into the incident but said no charges have been filed.
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said in the social media post that Gallagher’s actions not only violated department policies and public trust, but “are fundamentally incompatible with the responsibilities and integrity required of a peace officer.”
“There is no place in this department for this type of conduct,” Chamberlain said. “Our community should expect the highest level of professionalism from its police department and I expect the same from every member of this organization.”
Chamberlain said the police department “immediately began the process to hold this officer accountable” when it became aware of the allegations.
A previous Sentinel investigation revealed that officers from Aurora and across the state resigned before being terminated in an effort to conceal rogue behavior from the state police licensing board. The investigation has led to changes in transparency at the state Peace Officer Standards and Training board, yet officers who commit fireable offenses are still able to resign or retire to avoid discipline, the investigation found.
Gallagher was placed on administrative leave on the same day the incident occurred while the internal investigation was conducted.