Prosecutors have released body camera footage from the first case in which the device’s recordings led to charges against a Denver police officer,
The recording from Julian Archuleta’s body camera purportedly shows him stealing hundreds of dollars .
Last week Archuleta, 48, pleaded guilty to first-degree official misconduct and second-degree theft, both Class 2 misdemeanors. He was sentenced to 18 months probation and immediately resigned from the Denver Police Department.
Archuleta, who had been on the force since 2004, was arrested Oct. 27, 2016. His case was the first in which criminal charges were filed against a Denver police officer based on his own body-camera footage.
On Oct. 7, Archuleta, a patrol officer in northwest Denver, assisted in the investigation after two suspects in a vehicle fired shots in the direction of two police vehicles parked at a 7-Eleven store. A short pursuit ensued, investigators say, ending with the suspects’ vehicle rolling over near the intersection of East 50th Avenue and Washington Street.
The driver ran away and a passenger was left unconscious in the vehicle, police said.
Archuleta’s body camera recorded as he searched a suspectap clothing and took pictures of the wrecked car, according to his arrest affidavit.
In the footage, Archuleta rummages through the mangled vehicle before picking up a stack of cash with a $100 bill on top. He removed that bill, and the recording showed him shuffling papers and cash, the affidavit said.
A detective who later reviewed the body camera footage noticed the $100 bill and questioned why only $118 had been logged into evidence. Archuleta later produced $1,200 and told another detective that it must have fallen into his bag, the affidavit said.
The affidavit noted that Archuleta’s actions also violated Denver Police Department policy on handling evidence and/or personal property.
“Officer Archuleta’s actions at the scene … were a contributing factor in the decision by the District Attorney’s Office to decline the filing of formal charges on the aggravated assault case,” the affidavit says,
Archuleta was suspended without pay after his arrest. He was initially charged with tampering with physical evidence, a felony.
