Hoax Case Ends With Guilty Plea By Cop Who Shot Himself
BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4) - A former Commerce City police officer whose false reporting of a shooting led to a multi-day manhunt will avoid jail time as part of a plea agreement.
Kevin Lord was on duty early in November 2015 when he reported that he was shot by a suspect who he stopped in his cruiser and who then got away.
During the manhunt that followed, police released a description of the suspect's getaway car and the possible license plate number on it -- all provided falsely by Lord. Lord also worked with his department to release a sketch of what he said the suspect looked like.
But it turned out there was no suspect -- Lord had shot himself in the chest, sustaining minor injuries.
Police arrested Lord five days after the shooting and false reporting charges were filed against him.
On Friday it was revealed that as part of his unusual hoax, Lord picked out a suspect from a phony police lineup that had been set up as investigators started to doubt his story.
Lord resigned from the police force a few days after his arrest.
"It started out with us looking for a potential cop killer and turned into a criminal investigation against a police officer. He took it so far that he was willing to put an innocent person in jeopardy for being charged," District Attorney Dave Young said on Friday in a prepared statement.
During an Adams County Court hearing Friday morning, Lord pleaded guilty to false reporting and tampering with physical evidence. A judge sentenced him to 36 months of probation and 500 hours of community service. He will also have to pay an $1,800 fine and he'll have to undergo mental health testing and treatment.
Young said it was unlikely from the start that Lord would have faced any jail time due to his clean record prior to the crime.
"The terms of this plea agreement and sentence will assure that Mr. Lord will never be allowed to be a police officer again," Young said.
The Associated Press reported that Lord told the judge Friday he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after suffering a concussion.