A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was arrested Wednesday afternoon for allegedly taking inappropriate photos of four teenage girls who were in CMPD's High School Academy. After a five month investigation, CMPD charged Officer Thomas Allen with four counts of secretly using a camera to view another's body or undergarments and four counts of possessing photos in violation of the state's peeping statute.
CMPD Chief Rodney Monroe says the department is working aggressively. Eleven detectives were assigned to this investigation, which began in October of 2013.
"From time to time, we're going to run across an individual that does not properly represent what we stand for in this organization either criminally or ethically and we'll deal with it the utmost speed and directness," Monroe says. "We're not going to placate. We're not going sweep things under the rug. We're going to be open, we're going to be transparent about what our ills are. The same way that we are with what our overwhelming accomplishments are."
The department says Allen took the images in 2011 and 2013. CMPD says it has reviewed thousands of photos on his work and home computers. CMPD is currently working to interview about 700 people who were in the youth programs that Allen also participated in. CMPD is taking steps to fire Allen, who has been with the department since 1996.