OWEN COUNTY — A police officer has been arrested in connection with the theft of various drugs from the Spencer Police Department.

Sergeant James Bradley Deckard, a law enforcement veteran who has been serving for 18 years, was arrested Friday. He had just started working with the Spencer Police Department earlier this year.

Indiana State Police began investigating Deckard at the request of the Owen County Prosecutor. They came to believe that he had stolen drugs stored in the DEA Drug Take Back Container.

While ISP did not specify exactly what was taken, they did say that both “illegal narcotics and controlled substances” had gone missing.

Deckard has been charged with Official Misconduct and Theft.