Charges Dropped Against Former County Officer Accused Of Theft

ST. LOUIS, MO — St. Louis County prosecutors have dropped charges against a former St. Louis County police officer, 47-year-old Norman Campbell, who had been accused of felony theft for working as private security at a Dirt Cheap liquor shore while also on police duty.

The alleged theft of almost $6,000 (in pay) occurred in early 2014. Prosecutors said Campbell did double duty on 47 separate occasions. He was suspended shortly after charges were filed and fired in 2016. It's not clear why prosecutors decided to drop charges now.

Campbell's lawyer called the whole thing a "misunderstanding," explaining that police officers can use "flex time" to manage their schedules, working more one day and less the next, for example.

“We think they are incorrect about this and had he been given the opportunity to explain, that we think this could have been resolved, but they leapt to conclusions that are not supported by the evidence,” the lawyer told the Post-Dispatch.

Two years later, prosecutors seem to finally agree with that assessment.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.

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