A sting with fake drugs led to the arrest and resignation of a La Crosse Police officer earlier this summer.
At a court appearance scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, former La Crosse Police Lieutenant Brian Thompson faces charged with one count of Possession of Narcotic Drugs.
The criminal complaint against Thompson says the investigation began after concerns that Thompson was spending time in the department's evidence room that weren't a part of his normal duties. It also says Thompson asked other officers if they had any leftover pain medications.
The complaint says Assistant Chief Robert Abraham had Captain Jason Melby pack a duffel bag with personal items and a bottle of fake narcotic pills.
Chief Abraham then gave the duffel to Thompson and told him to take care of putting it into evidence. The complaint says that video cameras later captured Thompson searching the bag.
When Abraham asked if there was anything in the bag, Thompson replied that there were only clothes in the duffel bag. Later, when Abraham checked, he found the pill bottle, now empty, in the duffel bag. Thompson again said that there were only clothes in the bag when he was asked a second time.
On August 13, Thompson admitted he took the pills from the bag and ingested them. He also told investigators that on at least three occasions he took methamphetamine from the evidence locker and ingested those drugs.