LAPD Officer Is Accused of Stealing Guns at Work

A police officer caught in a sting has been indicted on charges of stealing weapons that had been surrendered to the Los Angeles Police Department, authorities said Tuesday.

Richard Piffard, 30, a desk officer at the West Valley Division, was charged with theft of a firearm, embezzlement by a public officer and unlawful possession of assault weapons. Piffard pleaded not guilty at his arraignment before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Wesley. He was released on $60,000 bond.

Working on an anonymous tip, an undercover officer turned in three weapons to Piffard. Authorities allege that Piffard kept the firearms rather than booking them into evidence.

In a search of Piffard’s San Fernando Valley home, police found a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol that had been surrendered to the West Valley station sometime between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1, 2002, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Ashen.

Four assault rifles that had been surrendered to Piffard on Feb. 18, 2002, but never booked or placed in the station’s property division, were found in a search of his storage locker in Las Vegas. Police also found an illegal silencer, ammunition and other weapons, Ashen said.

When illegal weapons are given to officers, they must be booked and the officer must fill out a property report, said LAPD Sgt. John Pasquariello. The weapons are then put into the station’s property division.

“It’s a way of leaving a paper trail,” Pasquariello said.

Piffard also is facing trial on federal charges of possession of a silencer, transport of stolen firearms and possession of stolen firearms.

Piffard’s attorney, Darryl Mounger, would not comment.

Piffard has been with the LAPD since 1995 and at the West Valley Division since 1997. He was relieved of duty after his arrest in December.

The charges against Piffard are felonies in California. If convicted, he faces up to six years in state prison.