DENTON COUNTY -- A Dallas Police Department officer has been arrested and accused of stealing hundreds of dollars in groceries from a Walmart store in Denton County.
Northeast police officers were called to the Walmart in Cross Roads, Texas at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday for reports of a theft.
Employees told police that the suspect, identified as 30-year-old Christopher Hankins, left the store with close to $830 in groceries without paying, all while wearing a Dallas Police Department jacket.
Hankins told officers that he panicked thinking his car had been stolen, so he went outside with his grocery cart. Officers smelled a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, and the store manager told them that Hankins had been shopping in the store for about three hours while acting suspicious.
Northeast police took away Hankins' badge, ID and service weapon. He was arrested and taken to the Denton County jail.
Dallas PD said Wednesday that Hankins, who had been with the department since April 2014 and was assigned to the North Central Patrol Division, has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.