SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento Police officer was arrested on a domestic violence complaint for an alleged incident in Natomas a week ago, according to a press release.
Justin Shepard, a three-year veteran of the Sacramento Police Department, was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail following an investigation into the incident.
Authorities say the victim had visible injuries but did not require hospitalization. Police say the alleged altercation happened when Shepard was off duty.
“The Sacramento Police Department does not and never will tolerate criminal behavior from our officers,” Chief Daniel Hahn said in a press release.
Due to victim privacy reasons, the police department says no additional information will be released about this incident.
According to police, California law prohibits anyone from serving as a police officer following a domestic violence conviction. Officials say Shepard, 30, has been placed on paid administrative leave and stripped of his police powers as the investigation continues.
“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,” Hahn said.
ABC10 reached out to Sacramento Police for a photograph of Shepard but the department replied saying they do not plan on releasing a mugshot of the officer.
"The department does not believe that automatically providing booking photos provides any investigative benefit to the department or community," said the police department.
Sacramento police confirmed to ABC10 that Shepard was also involved in a shooting of a dog outside of a grocery store in March 2020. The dog's owner sued the city after he was falsely arrested and his dog, Nikki, was shot during the incident outside of the Midtown Safeway on 19th and S streets. Sacramento officials later agreed to pay $99,000 to the man.
This incident comes just a day after another Sacramento Police Officer, 26-year-old Alexa Palubicki, was arrested on two felony complaints of filing a false police report.
Back in March, former Sacramento Police Officer Daniel Donahue allegedly sexted with a 15-year-old girl in Minnesota on the social media app Hoop. Donahue was still working with the department on March 9, 2021, when they received a complaint about the alleged communication.
Sacramento police are asking anyone who knows information about the Donahue case to call 916-277-1773.
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Alexa Palubicki, 26, was arrested and placed on administrative leave as soon as the department learned of her alleged misconduct, officials said.
