Police officer accused of stealing from man under arrest in Charlotte, NC cops say
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was arrested by his own department on Friday after being accused of stealing from someone who was in police custody, officials said.
Officer Henry Chapman was placed on unpaid administrative leave pending an outcome of the investigation, CMPD said in a news release.
The 49-year-old Cherryville resident was arrested just after midnight Friday on a felony embezzlement charge and is free on a written promise to appear in court, Mecklenburg County jail records show.
Chapman earns $95,937 as an officer assigned to the University City Division, according to a Charlotte Observer database of city employee salaries. He has been with the department since 2009, CMPD said.
A criminal investigation was launched Thursday, March 14, “after an arrestee reported that an officer had stolen property from him,” CMPD said.
“Upon investigation, CMPD detectives arrested Officer Chapman who was charged with one count of embezzlement,” officials said. Internal Affairs is conducting a simultaneous investigation.
Details of the incident were not released by CMPD, including what the officer is accused of taking.
CMPD spokesman Mike Allinger declined to release Chapman’s full CMPD work history to The Charlotte Observer on Friday.
Allinger also declined to say if the theft occurred as the person was taken into custody or as the person was booked into the Mecklenburg County jail.
CMPD Chief calls incident ‘deeply disappointing’
CMPD Police Chief Johnny Jennings issued a statement Friday, referring to the incident as “deeply disappointing.”
“We hold ourselves to the highest standards, and a violation of that trust is a serious offense,” he said. “However, I want to assure the public that we take all allegations seriously, and we will not tolerate misconduct within our ranks.
“I’m proud that the supervisor and other officers on scene took immediate and decisive action to investigate the situation and determine that our officer needed to be arrested,” Jennings said. “No CMPD employee is above the law.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 5:04 AM with the headline "Police officer accused of stealing from man under arrest in Charlotte, NC cops say."