Details Emerge In Arrest Of Commerce City Police Officer After Shooting
By Brian Maass
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (CBS4)- Commerce City Police Officer Kevin Lord, charged with lying about being shot during a traffic stop, was tripped up by his own statements and ballistics testing according to sources familiar with the case.
"We can't comment until we have all the information," said Reid Elkus, Lord's attorney.
He declined to discuss any details of the case.
Lord reported he was shot Sunday, Nov. 8 during a traffic stop of a man driving a Nissan Pathfinder. The initial story Lord provided was that the shot fired from the SUV hit Lord's bulletproof vest, saving his life. Lord said the suspect sped away, triggering a massive manhunt, even a $20,000 reward was offered.
But Friday night, Commerce City Police and the Adams County District Attorney announced that there was no suspect and that they believed Lord engineered a hoax. Lord was arrested, booked, and is being charged with making a false report and attempting to influence a public official. District Attorney Dave Young said the case was sealed and no further information was released.
However multiple sources familiar with the investigation say that Commerce City authorities concluded that in all likelihood, the shot that struck Lord did not come from a stranger's gun, but probably came from one of Lord's own weapons.
Through a spokesperson, Commerce City Police Chief Troy Smith declined to comment on any ballistics evidence saying "it would be inappropriate to comment further."
Multiple sources have also told CBS4 that during the investigation, Lord was shown a photo lineup and positively identified a suspect's photo. However sources say the man who Lord positively identified out of the lineup was essentially a "plant" and couldn't possibly have been a viable suspect.
Sources also say that late last week, authorities executed a search warrant at Lord's Commerce City home, but no information was available on what they were looking for and what was seized. Lord has not confessed or made any admission to any wrongdoing according to contacts briefed on the case.
Prior to working at Commerce City, Lord worked for the Thornton Police Department.
In 2013, Commerce City Police awarded Lord a Purple Heart after an incident involving a foot chase of a burglary suspect. But numerous current and former Commerce City officers, who asked not to be identified, said they had doubts about that incident. In that case, Lord said he was pursuing a suspect and became involved in a physical altercation, but the suspect got away. Although police K9s were called in, they were never able to locate a suspect. Police contacts say Lord suffered a concussion in the incident and subsequently missed an extended amount of time at work. Several current and former Commerce City officers said they had doubts about Lord's account of what happened.
Michelle Halstead, Director of Communications for Commerce City, said "The city hasn't made a decision on whether to revisit past commendations."
Monday afternoon, the Commerce City Fraternal Order of Police said of the accusations against Lord, "If they occurred as alleged, are a breach of trust of the highest order. It would mean our members were betrayed, our community was lied to, and our entire noble profession has been scarred permanently. The acts alleged are indeed reprehensible…"
The FOP went on to say that Lord is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial.
Lord is due in court November 30.
CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.
