Sacramento police officer arrested on domestic violence charges, placed on leave
A Sacramento police officer has been arrested on domestic violence charges in connection with an incident that resulted in visible injuries to the victim, officials announced Friday afternoon. It’s the second time this week the department has announced the arrest of one of its own.
Justin David Shepard, 30, was arrested Friday on charges related to felony domestic violence, according to a news release from the Sacramento Police Department. Shepard has been working for the Police Department for about three years.
Shepard was booked shortly before 5:30 p.m. Friday on four felony charges. He was arrested on suspicion of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, domestic violence, false imprisonment, making criminal threats against a victim of death or great bodily injury and making a threat with a gun, according to jail records.
He was released from Sacramento County Main Jail on a $50,000 bond Friday night, records show.
Police officials said California law prohibits any person to be a police officer after a domestic violence conviction. Shepard has been placed on administrative leave and stripped of his peace officer powers “as the administrative and criminal process continues,” according to the department.
On Thursday, the Police Department was notified of the alleged domestic violence incident that occurred in the Natomas area about a week ago, according to the news release.
Police officials said the victim suffered visible injuries that did not require hospitalization. Investigators determined that Shepard was off-duty when the incident occurred.
The Police Department did not release any further information about this arrest or the investigation, citing victim privacy reasons and procedures related to domestic violence crimes, according to news release.
“The Sacramento Police Department does not and never will tolerate criminal behavior from our officers,” Police Chief Daniel Hahn said in the news release. “We demand that our officers uphold the highest legal and ethical standards that are required to serve our community in the critical position of peace officer. We hold our officers to these standards both on and off duty and will continue to work with the victim in this case.”
Shepard was one of the officers named in a lawsuit by a man whose dog was shot by a police officer outside a midtown Safeway. The lawsuit resulted in the city of Sacramento paying a $99,000 settlement to resolve the case.
Shepard’s arrest comes a day after the Police Department announced one of its other officers, Alexa Palubicki, was arrested on suspicion of filing false police reports. The internal investigation that led to her arrest also resulted in the suspension of other officers at the Police Department.
This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 6:02 PM.
