The Denver Police Department on Tuesday arrested two of its officers for felony theft, alleging they billed a business thousands of dollars but failed to show up for the off-duty work.    

Police took DPD officers Michael Pineda, 50, and Santana Pineda, 26, into custody over allegations they billed a private contractor for hours “not worked,” according to a news release.

Michael Pineda has been with the department since 2004, while his son, Santana Pineda, has worked for the force since 2019, both in the patrol division. Both officers were placed on paid administrative leave on July 11. Police said they are now both on non-paid administrative leave following their arrest.  

An internal affairs investigation began when the father and son failed to show up for a scheduled, non-department paid off-duty job on April 15.

Investigators reviewed their timesheets with hours of surveillance video form the private employer and found 23 shift discrepancies for Michael Pineda valued at $5,070 and 18 shift discrepancies for Santana Pineda valued at $3,751.50.

The two worked off-duty for the business starting in October 2021, but surveillance tapes, which investigators used to confirm their work hours, only went as far back as the end of February this year, the police said.

“The Denver Police Department takes seriously any allegation of misconduct by officers, whether the complaint is initiated internally or externally, and has a robust disciplinary process which includes the Denver Department of Safety and the Office of the Independent monitor, a civilian oversight agency,” the police said in the news release.