An Aurora police officer has been charged with theft by deception following an internal investigation that alleges she fabricated a call in order to extend her shift so she could collect overtime pay.

The officer, Kimberly R. Hanson, 43, of Plano, is facing discipline that could include termination from the department.

Kimberly Hanson (CREDIT: Aurora Police Department)

“Anytime a police officer is charged with a crime, it tarnishes the badge of every police officer and that is unwarranted and unfair to the vast majority of officers who serve honorably every day,” said Aurora Chief of Police Kristen Ziman. “This charge is the result of an investigation that was generated internally, was very time-consuming, impeccable, and illustrates the highest standards to which Aurora police officers are held. Any deviation from those standards will not be tolerated.”

According to charging documents, at around 10:23 p.m., Sept. 29, Hanson radioed that she was assisting a motorist at Route 59 and Liberty Street on Aurora’s Far East Side and further stated that she was going to stay with the motorist until a tow truck arrived. By the time she made it back to police headquarters and finished her tour of duty, her regular eight-hour shift was extended by an hour, making her eligible for overtime pay at time-and-one-half.

The fabricated call was uncovered when supervisors reviewed footage from Hanson’s in-squad video system and discovered she allegedly said she was assisting the driver of a vehicle with a license plate that was actually on an unoccupied and parked vehicle near the Route 59 Transportation Center.

The squad video then shows Hanson driving around the Transportation Center parking lot and immediate area; parking in a retail center parking lot for several minutes, and returning to Aurora police headquarters, where she also parked for an extended period of time. At the end of her shift, Hanson followed procedures for turning in the overtime and combined it with additional time she had banked to take the following day off.

The amount of money lost was $71.14. The criminal charge is a misdemeanor.

Hanson has been on administrative leave with pay since Oct. 3 as the internal investigation continues. A warrant for her arrest was issued on Nov. 3, and she turned herself in at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department on Nov. 8. She posted $100 bail and her next court date is pending.

Hanson was hired by the Aurora Police Department on June 10, 1996 and has spent the majority of career in patrol. She was assigned as a juvenile officer for six months in 2002 and spent 17 months as an investigator with the Kane County Child Advocacy Center from January 2003 to August 2004.

The charges against Hanson are not proof of guilt. She is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

SOURCE: Aurora Police Department news release