LAPD Officer Arrested for Stealing Money During Illegal Pot Grow Bust

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – An officer with the Los Angeles Police Department was arrested on Monday after being suspected of theft.

On Monday morning, LAPD officers were conducting a raid on an illegal cannabis grow operation at a facility.

While the operation was being carried out, an employee who was working at the grow facility told a supervising officer for the LAPD that some money was missing from her personal belongings that were inside a backpack.

The supervisor started looking into the missing cash after securing the scene. Closed-circuit camera recordings were then reviewed by investigators who discovered that they believed Officer Louis Mota had grabbed money out of the woman’s backpack.

Officer Mota was arrested and his gun, department ID, and department badge were all stripped away from him.

Chief Michel Moore gave a statement and said, “No employee of this Department is above the law, and we will not tolerate any individual who betrays the public’s trust through this type of behavior,”

Louis Mota was booked into the county jail on a misdemeanor charge of theft and then shortly afterward was released on his own recognizance. Mota was then assigned to home duty. There is an internal and criminal investigation pending that will determine the fate of Louis Mota and his position with the LAPD.

The LAPD didn’t say which business was raided or where it was located, but only that Mota had been assigned to the department’s Northeast Division that covers Highland Park, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and other nearby areas.

None of this would have happened if Cannabis was not only legalized but also fully decriminalized as well.

Source and Featured Image thanks to CBS Los Angeles. Video and source courtesy of ABC7.com: