COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (KEZI/CNN) – An Oregon police officer is accused of stealing drugs.
Cottage Grove Police say they noticed Phillip Beach accessed the department’s evidence locker more often than other officers for no apparent reason.
They say when they set up hidden cameras, they saw beach taking a small amount of meth from an evidence bag.
They say beach accessed drug evidence from multiple cases over five years. And at one point, they say he replaced the drugs with salt to try to cover up his actions.
According to police, beach said he was sending evidence to the lab for drug testing but it never arrived.
He was suspended in 2015 when the investigation began.
Beach pleaded not guilty in federal court on Wednesday. He will be back in court next month.
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