AURORA | A former Aurora Police officer is facing charges of official misconduct and driving under the influence after investigators say he took drugs collected at a traffic stop and later used them while driving home.

The 18th Judicial District is charging Michael Gallagher following an investigation that found Gallagher used fentanyl he collected as evidence.

A release from the judicial district says that Gallagher stopped a stolen vehicle at about 12:45 p.m. June 26 and arrested the driver after finding suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and drug paraphernalia. 

Investigators later determined that suspected cocaine Gallagher reported finding was not tested nor entered into evidence.

Later that day, on his way home from work, Gallagher was found unresponsive in his personal vehicle on Interstate 270 in Adams County by a family member who called 911, prosecutor officials said in a statement. A small bag containing a white powdery substance that later tested positive for fentanyl was allegedly found in Gallagher’s sock. 

Gallagher was transported to a hospital for treatment.

Prosecutors said charges were dropped against the driver of the stolen vehicle arrested by Gallagher because of his “handling of the investigation and the reliability of information contained in his report.”

Gallagher resigned from the Aurora Police Department last week in lieu of termination. The department investigation found several policy violations, including substance abuse, tampering with evidence and knowingly making untruthful statements during an investigation. 

The investigation determined that on June 26 Gallagher took narcotics he had collected as evidence during a traffic stop while on duty and later ingested them while driving home from his shift, which caused him to “become incapacitated in his vehicle on the highway in Commerce City.”

The police department referred Gallagher to the 18th Judicial District for criminal charges and to the Colorado Peace Officers Standards and Training office, which oversees law enforcement credentials in the state.

Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said in the social media post that Gallagher’s actions not only violated department policies and public trust, but “are fundamentally incompatible with the responsibilities and integrity required of a peace officer.”

Gallagher is scheduled for court advisement in Arapahoe County Oct. 20.

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