Galveston police officer arrested on felony organized criminal activity charges
GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Galveston Police Department arrested one of their police officers on three felony charges Friday morning.
John Rutherford, 40, has been arrested and charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, misuse of official information and tampering with physical evidence. He's being held on a $75,000 bond.
Galveston police said while they were conducting an investigation into 32-year-old Salvador Rivera, officers were made aware that a Galveston police officer may be involved in distributing and transporting prescription drugs.
After further investigation, the FBI and the DEA discovered that Rutherford allegedly provided a suspect with classified information concerning officers locations, work assignments and patterns, which allowed the criminals the tools to not be captured by authorities.
Early Friday morning, the FBI SWAT team executed a search warrant in the 5600 block of Lafitte to bring Rivera in custody. During that same time, Galveston PD also arrested Rutherford at the Galveston justice center.
Rutherford, who had been with the Galveston PD's patrol division since July 2003, was immediately placed on administrative leave.
