Aurora Officer Makes Up Story About Stranded Motorist to Extend Shift, Collect Overtime: Police

An Aurora Police Officer faces a misdemeanor theft charge after she radioed to say she’d be assisting a stranded motorist and then just parked her squad car and sat for an extra hour past her 8-hours shift, which made her eligible for overtime pay, police said Thursday.

Kimberly R. Hanson, 43, of Plano, has been on administrative leave with pay since Oct. 3 when an internal investigation got underway into Hanson. On Nov. 3, a warrant was issued for Hanson’s arrest and she could now face termination from the Aurora Police Department.

“Anytime a police officer is charged with a crime, it tarnishes the badge of every police officer and that is unwarranted and unfair to the vast majority of officers who serve honorably every day,” said Aurora Chief of Police Kristen Ziman. “This charge is the result of an investigation that was generated internally, was very time-consuming, impeccable, and illustrates the highest standards to which Aurora Police Officers are held. Any deviation from those standards will not be tolerated.”

According to charging documents, at around 10:23 p.m. on Sept. 29, Hanson radioed that she was assisting a motorist at Route 59 and Liberty Street on Aurora’s Far East Side and further stated that she was going to stay with the motorist until a tow truck arrived, according to a news release.
By the time she made it back to police headquarters, her regular eight-hour shift was extended by an hour making her eligible for overtime pay at time-and-one-half.

The fabricated call was uncovered when supervisors reviewed footage from Hanson’s in-squad video system and discovered she allegedly said she was assisting the driver of a vehicle with a license plate that was actually on an unoccupied and parked vehicle near the Rt. 59 Transportation Center, according to a news release.
The squad video then shows Hanson driving around the Transportation Center parking lot and immediate area, parking in a retail center parking lot for several minutes, and returning to Aurora Police headquarters where she also parked for an extended period of time.

At the end of her shift, Hanson followed procedures for turning in the overtime and combined it with additional time she had banked to take the following day off, according to police.

The amount of money lost was $71.14. The criminal charge is a misdemeanor.

Hanson turned herself in at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department on November 8. She posted $100 bail and her next court date is pending.

Hanson was hired by the Aurora Police Department on June 10, 1996 and has spent the majority of career in patrol. She was assigned as a juvenile officer for six months in 2002 and spent 17 months as an investigator with the Kane County Child Advocacy Center from January, 2003 to August, 2004.