Police chief announces his own arrest, charges over missing cash

A Louisiana police chief has been charged after $3,650 of seized cash went missing from his station — announcing his own arrest in an online news statement.

Grayson Police Chief Mitch Bratton announced on Facebook that Louisiana State Police (LSP) had charged him with obstruction of justice and malfeasance in office — and that he would not step down.

“I won’t debate the validity of the charge. I wanted to be in full disclosure,” he said just before 7 p.m Thursday — more than four hours before state cops made their own announcement.

“This does not affect me being the chief of police and I intend to be as accessible as I always have while I let the criminal justice system work this issue out,” he insisted.

Bratton claimed that he had been the one to call in state police over “some concerns that I had with a town employee” — saying the focus turned on him while he was “cooperating” with the investigators.

State police claimed that officers “determined Bratton seized $2,500 and $1,150 on two separate cases. The seized currency could not be accounted for and was never logged as evidence.”

Bratton “intentionally concealed the missing currency,” the department claimed.

The chief was booked into Caldwell Parish Jail and bonded out a few hours later, Newsweek said. Bratton and LSP refused to discuss the ongoing investigation, the magazine said.

via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/07/police-chief-announces-his-own-arrest-charges-over-missing-cash/

Photo Credit: nypost.com