DURHAM
-- Three police officers, including a high-ranking watch commander, were
arrested Friday and charged with “pushing their way into a residence” in North
Durham to retrieve items that were reportedly stolen from them.
The
three officers were off duty when the incident occurred shortly after 1 a.m.
Friday, said police spokeswoman Kammie Michael.
Durham
police Lt. Ryan A. Freeman and fellow officers Stacy L. Armstrong and Erin V.
Espinola are each charged with one count of false imprisonment and assault.
Armstrong also is charged with two counts of misdemeanor breaking and entering,
while Freeman and Espinola were each charged with one count, Michael said.
Although
these three officers have been charged, I want to stress to the community that
these actions are not indicative of our organization,” Durham Police Chief Jose
L. Lopez Sr. said in a statement released late Friday.
Police
also charged three other people in connection with the case.
Jessica
Lobaugh, 30, and Benjamin Brackett, 32, both of Timberlake, and Jennifer
Norton, 30, of Rougemont, were each charged with misdemeanor counts of breaking
and entering and assault, Michael reported.
Investigators
say the incident occurred on Trevor Circle near Guess Road, where police
responded to reports of a disturbance. Officers were dispatched “a few minutes
later” to a related call just around the corner on Landis Drive.
Police
say several people reportedly pushed their way into a home to take back
property that they said had been stolen from them while they were at a
nightspot on Ninth Street.
Investigators
were told that someone had taken an iPhone, a coat and a wallet containing
police identification from the club.
The
officers and friends have been accused of chasing a man and assaulting him,
Michael said.
Lopez,
who described the case as an “isolated incident,” said in a press release
Friday that all of the people involved were acquainted with one another.
Police
filed the charges Friday afternoon after an internal investigation by the
department’s criminal investigations division. Michael said the investigation
is ongoing and more charges might be filed.
The
officers have been placed on administrative leave pending completion of the
criminal investigation. The department’s professional standards division is
also conducting an internal investigation of the incident, which is standard
procedure, Michael said.
Freeman,
40, was hired in May 1994 and is a watch commander assigned to the patrol bureau.
Espinola,
31, was hired in August 2005 and Armstrong, 27, in January 2011. The officers
are both assigned to the patrol bureau.