Colorado Springs police Thursday confirmed that Officer Joshua Carrier, a school resource officer arrested Wednesday on suspicion of child pornography, was the subject of an internal-affairs complaint that he allegedly pulled up his shirt to display a gun during a sporting event at a middle school.
Police spokesman Sgt. Darrin Abbink released little information on the complaint or investigation, though he confirmed that the complaint was filed by a parent. He would not say when or where the alleged incident occurred or whether any punishment was handed down as a result of the complaint.
“Right now, we’re just not discussing any of the internal-affairs records because it’s very early in the investigation for us,” Abbink said. “We made the arrest. We are still going through evidence. We are still determining what has happened overall.”
The Gazette has filed a request for the internal-affairs records under the Colorado Open Records Act.
Carrier, an officer with the department for seven years, was jailed Wednesday on suspicion he purchased child pornography over the Internet. He is free on $3,000 bail and has been placed on indefinite administrative leave.
In addition to being a school resource officer at Horace Mann Middle School in Colorado Springs School District 11, Carrier has spent time as a coach in the Police Athletic League and an adviser to youths in the CSPD Explorer program, where teenagers and young adults wear police uniforms and follow officers.
It is unclear whether the alleged confrontation occurred at a school-sanctioned event.
