Convicted former cop admits heroin addiction during arrest


By Kiran Chawla
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -

A former narcotics officer with the Baton Rouge Police Department has been arrested for unauthorized use of a vehicle and crime against the elderly. This arrest comes just four months after being released from prison after he was convicted in 2012 for stealing more than $27,000 from drug investigation evidence.
In April of 2011, evidence from more than half a dozen Baton Rouge drug cases went missing. Officer Michael Thompson was busted for stealing around $27,000 from drug investigations. He told investigators that he stole the money because he was addicted to pain medication and was using the money to buy pills.
Thompson was arrested and charged with malfeasance in office and seven counts of felony theft.
At the time of his first arrest, he had been with the Baton Rouge Police Department for five years. Officials with BRPD say Thompson was fired before he was taken into custody.
In October 2011, a grand jury indicted Thompson on 16 counts of felony theft.
In November 2012, Thompson was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $27,065 in restitution to the city of Baton Rouge. He was also sentenced to be on active supervised probation for three years following his release from prison. The sentence was part of Thompson's negotiated plea agreement.
He pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft that encompassed all of his criminal conduct.
Also during the investigation, it was revealed that several cases had to be dismissed because the evidence was missing.
Thompson was released from jail on July 13, 2014 and was to begin his active supervised probation that would last until 2017.
The former BRPD Narcotics Officer was arrested Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 and charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and crime against the elderly.
"We got a call that he actually took his father's car and apparently without permission, drove to his mom's residence," said Cpl. L'Jean McKneely with BRPD.
According to the arrest report, Thompson sat on his father while he was sitting on the couch and took his car keys from his pocket without permission. Thompson's father told officers his son has a drug problem and wants him arrested so he can be forced to seek help.
Thompson was found in the vehicle in the 200 block of Little John in the vehicle, but his mother was driving him back to his father's house.
Reports say Thompson admitted he did take the keys without permission, but he took them from the coffee table and not from his father's pocket. He told police he took the vehicle because he needed to go see his mother for a problem. Then Thompson also reportedly admitted he is addicted to heroin.
"It's an unfortunate thing, but it's sad to say, it's not uncommon," said Cpl. McKneely. "There are a lot of people out here who are addicted to prescription drugs. They are ruining their families, and their families are seeking to get them help."
Thompson was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. No bond has been set at the time of this report.