Cop Charged With Theft Thanks to Own Body Camera

Julian Archuleta claimed money 'must have fallen in his bag'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 31, 2016 12:18 AM CDT
Cop Busted by Own Body Camera
This photo provided by the Denver Police Department shows Julian Archuleta.   (Denver Police Department via AP)

A Denver cop who claimed $1,200 "must have fallen into his bag" at the scene of a car crash was arrested and suspended without pay after footage from his own body camera told a different story. The footage showed Julian Archuleta, a 48-year-old who has been on the force since 2004, responding to a report of shots being fired earlier this month, reports the Denver Post. When the suspects rolled over their car after a short chase, one fled the scene while the other was unconscious in the vehicle. Archuleta's body camera captured him removing money from the suspect's clothing after it had been cut away by paramedics.

In the footage, Archuleta could be seen reshuffling the money and removing a $100 bill from a stack of bills, 9News reports. He was contacted by Internal Affairs after a detective reviewed the footage and noticed that there had been no $100 bills recovered from the scene. Archuleta told them he would "check his war bag" and later claimed to have discovered 12 $100 bills that "must have fallen" in there. He faces a felony charge of tampering with physical evidence and misdemeanor charges of first-degree official misconduct and theft. Police say that because of his actions, the shooting investigation was blown and the suspect was never charged. (These officers got in hot water over a video involving edible marijuana goodies.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X