Sacramento cop arrested — she’s accused of filing false police report in July traffic stop

Sacramento police arrested one of their officers Thursday on two felony counts of filing a false police report, part of a massive internal investigation that began last July at a gas station near Discovery Park.

The police department said in a brief announcement Thursday afternoon that it had arrested Alexa Palubicki, 26, after being alerted to potential problems by other officers, and Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert’s office filed two felony counts in the case late Thursday.

That felony complaint says Palubicki filed a false report when she wrote that she stopped to question a motorist at the gas station after seeing his vehicle “make the turn without utilizing a turn signal.”

“Once the Sacramento Police Department was alerted to the dishonesty, the department launched a thorough audit of all arrests and associated supplemental reports submitted by Palubicki over the course of her three-year employment,” the department said. “Investigators in the department spent five months interviewing dozens of employees as well as reviewing footage from body-worn-cameras, in-car-cameras, and surveillance cameras as part of a comprehensive criminal and administrative investigation.

“In addition, search warrants were served for cellphones and social media accounts associated with the officer. The case was submitted to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, which has been working collaboratively with the Sacramento Police Department throughout the process.”

Online records for the Sacramento County Jail show Palubicki had already been released as of 5 p.m. Thursday. A phone number listed in her name was disconnected when The Bee called Thursday.

The department gave few other details, omitting any information about the case, and said its internal affairs process “is still ongoing.”

But internal police investigation documents obtained by The Sacramento Bee show the investigation reached deep into the department, included the suspension of her partner and included numerous search warrants, high-tech computer searches and the lock down of the officers’ lockers.

Sacramento police confirmed Thursday other officers have been suspended, but would not disclose their names.

“There are additional officers on administrative leave regarding this case,” Sgt. Sabrina Briggs wrote in an email to The Bee. “At this time we are not confirming any names related to this ongoing administrative investigation.”

The case began at 12:33 a.m. on July 11 at the Shell gas station at 225 Jibboom St., near Discovery Park, documents obtained by The Bee say.

Palubicki and her partner, another female officer, spotted a 27-year-old Black man driving a gray 2020 Nissan Altima that “abruptly” pulled into the Shell station and parked across two parking spaces, the documents say.

The driver got out and the officers approached him to “advise him that he parked illegally,” the documents say.

Palubicki returned to the patrol car to run a records check and discovered the driver had a suspended license, the documents say.

Her partner looked into the car and thought she saw marijuana in a plastic cup in the console, leading to a search of the vehicle despite repeated protests from the motorist that they did not have permission to search the car, the documents say.

Palubicki’s partner opened the passenger side door, searched a backpack and found a loaded handgun, the documents say.

The motorist was arrested and taken to the Sacramento County Main Jail, and days later prosecutors filed two felony counts of carrying a concealed weapon and a misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended license.

Within a few weeks, prosecutors dismissed the case, citing “insufficient evidence,” court filings say.

The motorist did not respond to a request for comment Thursday; his father said in a brief interview that neither he nor his son were aware of allegations involving the officer.

By the time the charges were dropped, police investigators had become aware of allegations that the probable cause cited for approaching the motorist had come under question inside the department.

Both officers involved in the incident were placed on administrative leave by July 17, the documents say.

Joshua Olander, attorney for Palubicki, her partner and other officers, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. Documents say Olander accompanied several officers to interviews at the Hall of Justice during the probe.

This story was originally published May 6, 2021 at 5:09 PM.