Police Officer Arrested Amid Theft Allegations

Officer Luis Feliciano, 34, turned himself in to police Tuesday and was charged with fifth-degree larceny and possessing a shoplifting device.

A Hartford, Connecticut, officer who was forced to turn in his gun and badge last week has been arrested amid allegations that he stole merchandise while working on a private-duty security job, according to police sources and union president Sgt. Richard Holton.

Holton said Officer Luis Feliciano, 34, turned himself in to police Tuesday and was charged with fifth-degree larceny and possessing a shoplifting device.

Feliciano, who has been a member of the department for two and a half years, was suspended last week and asked to stay away from Hartford police headquarters when the department launched an internal investigation into his actions.

Police sources say the allegations involve the officer's actions at a Walmart in Hartford a whether he stole merchandise while working a private-duty job there.

He's accused of stealing from the Walmart on Flatbush Avenue while working a security job there, according to police sources, one of whom told NBC Connecticut some of the questionable conduct was caught on video.

Prior to his work at the police department, Feliciano spent 10 years as a loss prevention officer for a large retailer in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission.
Hartford police spokesman Deputy Chief Brian Foley said the department was notified of the allegations against Feliciano on July 28.

Feliciano was initially suspended with pay but the terms of his suspension changed following his arrest. He is now suspended without pay, as mandated by the union contract, pending the outcome of the investigation, Holton said.

This incident comes about a year and a half after Hartford police confirm Feliciano’s department-issued gun was reported stolen in Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield police said Tuesday that Feliciano's weapon was later recovered during a drug raid.

Before he was hired in Hartford, Feliciano applied to the Springfield Police Department and was rejected. He filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission, saying the department was prejudiced because of a 2006 murder charge against him that was later thrown out, according to the commission's 2012 ruling.

An officer involved in the murder case also said a bag of suspected cocaine was found in Feliciano's Springfield apartment, although no drug charges were ever filed, according to the document.

The commission denied Feliciano's claim, alleging that he hadn't been truthful about all the details of the incident and had lied about his home address, the ruling contends.

Sources within the Hartford Police Department told the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters they question the decision to hire Feliciano in the first place, and City Council members said they're now reviewing the department's hiring procedures and screening practices.

"I'm very happy with HPD in this instance," said councilmember Ken Kennedy. "They've done what is appropriate. Their actions seem to be appropriate, although a court of law will determine that."

Meanwhile, Holton is urging community members to consider Feliciano's case an isolated incident.

"I ask the public not to judge officers based on one person's actions," he said in a statement Tuesday. "There are still men and women out there doing good work day in and day out."

Feliciano was released on a promise to appear and is due in court Aug. 11. Police said the criminal investigation into his conduct is ongoing.

Walmart has declined to comment on the case.
 

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