A Dallas police officer, Le Chau, has been arrested and charged with felony theft. The Dallas Police Department confirmed that Chau surrendered to the Dallas county Sheriff’s Office on Thursday and was released on bond the same day.
Chau, who joined the DPD in 2013 and was most recently assigned to the Basic Academy, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal inquiry.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation initiated an investigation into Chau in march and subsequently alerted the DPD’s Public Integrity Unit. This led Dallas police to launch their own inquiry into Chau and a series of product shortages at Apple stores located at NorthPark, Knox Street, and Galleria. The affidavit notes that these stores have experienced “exceptionally high volume of count variances” over the past two years, ranking them among the top ten for all Apple retail locations.
Chau was employed as an overnight security guard at all three Apple stores and was observed frequently bringing backpacks and duffel bags to work. Surveillance footage from the Galleria store between March 24 and march 25 reportedly shows Chau concealing items within his police jacket and later transferring them to a backpack and duffel bag in a break room. Additional video evidence from late March to early April allegedly depicts Chau taking merchandise on multiple occasions. The estimated value of the stolen goods during this period is reported as $37,806.Investigators also discovered evidence suggesting that Chau’s wife was selling the stolen merchandise on Facebook Marketplace. Both Chau and his wife where detained at DFW Airport on April 23,and their residence was searched,with property being seized.
It remains unclear whether Chau’s wife has been arrested or faces any charges. The affidavit does not specify if the FBI’s investigation into Chau is ongoing or if he will face additional charges.
The information for this report was obtained from the Dallas Police Department and an arrest warrant affidavit for Le Chau.
