Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez released a statement Wednesday in response to inquiries after two former and current DPD officers were arrested within the course of a few days.
Stephen Commander, 31, was arrested last Friday by the Wake County sheriff’s deputies and charged with breaking and entering as well as extortion.
An arrest warrant states that Commander “unlawfully, willingly and feloniously” broke into a Wake Forest home in November, and that he threatened the homeowners. He is currently out of jail on a $3,000 bond.
DPD Public Information Officer Kammie Michael confirmed Tuesday that Commander is a DPD officer.
Commander’s arrest came only two days after the indictment of Sherrod Peace, 35, a former DPD Uniform Patrol Bureau who resigned in December. Peace was investigated by DPD officials and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and was charged with distributing fewer than five grams of crack cocaine and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
Peace is not currently in custody.
Lopez said in the news statement all DPD officers are required to go through ethics training and annual in-service classes, and he is “deeply disappointed” in the recent arrests of men affiliated with the department.
“These arrests are in no way reflective of our officers who work hard and serve our community every day,” he said.
—from staff reports
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