Cop suspended for 4 months

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A cop accused of deleting her own internal affairs file and taking files of other cops, has lost her badge for the next four months.

Leslie Lopez was out of uniform and in front of the state board that licenses and disciplines officers, the Law Enforcement Academy Board.

Her attorney, Nicole Moss, did all the talking in front of the board, “There was never an IA file recovered at her home.”

In 2011 Lopez was accused of getting onto the Bosque Farms Police Chief's computer and deleting her internal affairs file. She was also accused of stealing files that contained citizen complaints against other officers, tactical plans for upcoming DWI checkpoints, and department gas receipts.

Cops searched her Albuquerque home and say they found some of the evidence and pot.

Something her attorney denied, “There was never marijuana indicted. Police officers claimed they found marijuana during a search but it was never tagged into evidence, it was never tested. They just claim they found it and then left it there.”

Lopez was in court last month where she was acquitted of one charge in the case, and the jury was hung on two more. The rest of the charges were dismissed by the prosecutor. The district attorney’s office confirmed they are not going to retry the case.

But the LEA board has a different standard, and accepted the director's recommendation of a four month suspension.

Lopez was fired by Bosque Farms Police, and will be on probation for a year after her suspension.

Lopez filed a sexual discrimination complaint over pay. No word on what has happened with that claim.