A Millsboro Police Department officer was suspended and on paid administrative leave this week after being discovered, unresponsive, in a marked police vehicle on the morning of Feb. 19, according to Police Chief Brian Calloway.
The officer, whose name was not released, was on duty at the time.
An investigation is being conducted into suspected tampering of a controlled substance from evidence, according Calloway. The officer was discovered in the patrol car around 11:20 a.m. and taken to a nearby medical facility for possible exposure to fentanyl, according to the news release.
According to Calloway, the officer is assigned as an evidence custodian for the police department. During a preliminary investigation, he said, it was believed the officer could have “improperly accessed drug evidence, which might have resulted in the officer becoming unresponsive.”
Calloway wouldn’t answer additional questions asked by the Coastal Point, including the gender and age of the officer, the length of time the officer has been with the police department and whether any charges have been filed.
Once the police department suspected a possible tampering of evidence, it was immediately reported to the Department of Justice, he noted.
Delaware State Police were conducting a criminal investigation in regards to the incident, and Millsboro police will conduct internal investigations, Calloway said.
