A Colchester police detective arrested Monday admitted to federal authorities this week that he’s been struggling with heroin addiction and has repeatedly stolen controlled drugs from the Colchester Police Department, court documents allege.
According to an affidavit filed by an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Corporal Tyler Kinney admitted to forming a friendship with Peter Burnett of Burlington over the past year, during which time the two men allegedly used heroin together. Kinney told ATF Special Agent Matthew Ekstrom that Kinney and Burnett sometimes used drugs Kinney had taken from the evidence locker at the Colchester police station, the affidavit says.
Kinney’s role at the Colchester Police Department was to oversee the storage of evidence and associated record keeping, according to Colchester police chief Jennifer Morrison.
“Kinney stated that in addition to narcotics taken from the CPD evidence vault, he also took prescription medication from the voluntary drop-off prescription medication box at CPD,” the affidavit says.
The box is located in the lobby as a place where civilians can drop off controlled prescription drugs they no longer need.
Federal authorities also found what they determined to be heroin in the center console of Kinney’s Colchester police cruiser, the affidavit said.
Police discovered Kinney’s alleged crimes while interviewing Burnett about a firearm found in his possession. Burnett allegedly told them that he got the gun from Kinney, who said he’d taken it from the police evidence locker.
Kinney is scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. District Court at 4 p.m. Wednesday. He faces charges of “knowingly and intentionally distributing heroin” and “knowingly possessing and disposing of a stolen firearm,” according to court filings.
Disclosure: The officer who was arrested is the brother of a vice president at VPR.
Correction Nov. 13 10:05 a.m. A previous version of this story misspelled Burnett's last name.
