CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said it has arrested one of its own officers for a felony offense.
Police said Officer Todd Beltrone is accused of falsifying his time card on 19 occasions, costing taxpayers nearly $7,000.
Last month, police said they found irregularities in Beltrone's on-duty time reporting.
CMPD officials said they immediately launched both criminal and internal investigations and found the falsifications occurred between July 2018 and March 2019.
Beltrone is charged with one count of obtaining property by false pretense.
During a press conference held Friday, CMPD Deputy Chief Coerte Voorhees said, “I’m disappointed today professionally, because we trust our people and we have a culture here that we don’t tolerate wrongdoing and if someone takes advantage of it, it’s sickening.”
Beltrone is assigned as a patrol officer in the South Division and has been placed on unpaid administrative leave.
"It tarnishes our image," Voorhees said.
Beltrone has been employed by CMPD since June 23, 1999.
CMPD Chief Kerr Putney tweeted in response to the arrest, "Today we arrested one of our own for falsifying his time sheet. I expect all of our employees to conduct themselves with integrity and honor that our profession deserves. We will always hold ourselves accountable."
CMPD said cases like Beltrone's are rare, but it proves they are ready to hold their own accountable.
"We caught it, that's what's supposed to happen, we caught it. Are we supposed to look internally and figure out how to make things better, so maybe we catch it sooner? Absolutely," Voorhees said. "It's very disappointing for me personally and we've got to get better."
Police said the investigation is ongoing and Beltrone could face more charges.
Channel 9 reached out to the Fraternal Order of Police, but they said they were not ready to make a statement on the case at this time.
No other details have been released.
Check back with wsoctv.com for more updates on this story.
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