AG's Office accuses former Burlington police officer of lying to law enforcement

Elizabeth Murray
Burlington Free Press

The Vermont Attorney General's Office has issued a criminal citation to former Burlington Police Officer Christopher Lopez on suspicion that he lied to a law enforcement officer, the office announced Wednesday. 

Former Burlington Police Officer Christopher Lopez, who resigned on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017, amid a perjury probe.

Lopez, 27, of Milton has been asked to appear in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Sept. 7. The citation was issued to Lopez via email on Monday, according to a copy of the citation attached to the news release. 

Lopez's case, which was investigated by Vermont State Police, had been under review by the Attorney General's Office since March. 

Assistant Attorney General Evan Meenan declined to comment further on the case until paperwork is filed and the judge finds probable cause. He said he had not filed charging documents with the court as of Wednesday. 

Lopez's attorney Lisa Shelkrot declined comment via email on Wednesday.

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Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo also declined comment on the case via text message on Wednesday.

"It's a pending court proceeding so I won't be able to comment until the case is fully disposed of," del Pozo said. 

    Lopez had resigned from the Burlington Police Department in late February after suspicions arose that he may have lied in court papers. The charges stemmed from an October 2016 traffic stop.

    Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan speaks at a news conference Thursday, Feb. 9.

    According to body camera footage from the stop, Lopez tells another officer that he doesn't smell anything emitting from the car. 

    "I can if I need to, but I don't like going that way if I can't back it up," Lopez replies, according to the transcript.

    In the affidavit, Lopez wrote that he smelled emissions from the vehicle that he knew to be fresh marijuana "based on my knowledge, training and experience." 

    Burlington police have said Lopez thought his body camera was off when he made the original statements on-scene. According to Burlington Police Department's body camera policy at the time, officers were allowed to turn their body cameras off when conferring with one another on-scene. 

    Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo, left, and Chittenden County States Attorney Sarah George answer questions in Burlington on Thursday, February 23, 2017, about former Burlington officer Christopher Lopez who was dismissed after allegations of perjury.

    Del Pozo said Wednesday that now officers must leave their cameras on for the duration of an encounter "providing full unbroken video, but they can briefly mute the sound out of privacy and tactical concerns."

    The suspect in the case, Michael Mullen, spent several months in prison while his case was pending. He later sued Lopez and the City of Burlington, and he won $100,000 in a settlement. 

    The Chittenden County State's Attorney's Office also dismissed 16 pending cases, including Mullen's case, in which Lopez had been involved. 

    In the affidavit for Mullen's case, Lopez wrote that in the approximately two years of working for Burlington's Police Department at that point, Lopez had made or participated in more than 75 controlled substance arrests or investigations. As a member of the Baltimore City Police Department, Lopez had received 40 hours of "specialized controlled dangerous substance" or drug training and had participated in more than 100 arrests during a two-year tenure with the department, he added.

    Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.