A Brownsville man wanted action against a police officer he claims was negligent, leaving personal information of a victim at a park.
Brownsville police said that his account is far from the truth.
The man told Action 4 News he wanted the police officer that lost a clipboard to be punished, but now that man could be facing theft charges after police checked into his story.
The clipboard which caused the bit of a controversy is now back in the hands of its rightful owner-a Brownsville police officer.
Joe, first reached out claiming he found the clipboard on a bench at Gonzalez Park and wanted the police officer to be punished for being negligent.
After Action 4 News took his claims to Brownsville police, they looked into the matter and say Joe's story is not accurate.
According to investigators, the officer was working a hit and run case and while making an arrest, he put the clipboard down and accidentally left it there, but not in a park.
"While in route to city jail the officer remembered he had left his clipboard at this residence,” Investigator J.J. Treviño said. “He contacted one of the backup officers and asked him to go back and retrieve the property, when the officer got there apparently he was denied access to check the area"
According to police, the person that denied access to search the property for the clipboard was the same man that made an outcry to the news.
Trevino said Joe, who doesn't want to be identified, faces theft or theft by possession charges if the officer decides to pursue criminal charges.
"It's very simple if you find something that does not belong to you,” Treviño. “The best thing is to turn it in, especially on something like this that you know who it belongs to now this clipboard is not city property, but it is property that belongs to the officer.”
Police said they don't apply a finders keepers rule, and hope the public will take their moral and civil duty more seriously after this incident.
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