Minneapolis Cop Stole Drugs At Traffic Stops: Feds

MINNEAPOLIS — A former Minneapolis police officer was sentenced to over three years in prison on Wednesday after he was convicted of stealing drugs from people at traffic stops.

In November, a federal jury found Ty Jindra, 29, guilty of three counts of acquiring a controlled substance by deception and two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.

From September 2017 through October 2019, Jindra took drugs from people while on duty, but did not report or place the drugs into evidence, investigators said.

Jindra did not tell his partner or other officers on the scene about the drugs that he had confiscated, according to authorities.

Jindra also conducted searches beyond the scope warranted in an attempt to recover controlled substances, investigators said. He would find ways to search an individual, vehicle, or residence so that he could surreptitiously recover controlled substances without his partner’s knowledge, according to authorities.

According to Aaron Morrison, the former officer's defense attorney, Jindra suffered trauma from his experience as a soldier in Iraq and as a police officer. That led him to abuse Xanax and street drugs.

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.