This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A former Provo police officer charged with allegedly stealing painkillers from a home while he pretended to conduct an investigation made his first appearance Wednesday in Provo Justice Court.
Troy Brewer, 32, is charged with one count of theft and one count of possessing a controlled substance for allegedly taking the narcotics on Feb. 15. The counts are class B misdemeanors punishable by up to six months in jail.
At Wednesday's arraignment, Judge Scott J. Cullimore declared Brewer indigent and appointed a public defender to represent him. A pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for May 25.
Utah County sheriff's Lt. Mike Brower, whose office investigated the case, said in a February interview that Brewer responded to a complaint call at a home in the Provo River Bottoms. But in the following days, Brewer kept returning to the home under the pretext of following up, Brower said.
The homeowner became suspicious and installed a video camera, Brower said. The video shows Brewer tiptoeing or walking lightly around a corner, then stopping. His hands move off camera.
Brower said Brewer stole pain medication from a cabinet in the home. Brewer has since resigned from the Provo Police Department.
Brewer's father is the police chief at Utah Valley University.
As a result of Brewer's conduct, along with two other criminal cases involving Provo police officers, Provo Mayor John Curtis announced a review of the Police Department. The review includes an audit by a California government consulting firm as well as a citizens committee to oversee it, a way for residents to submit positive and negative feedback about the department and a request for officers and other employees to meet with the department's chaplain.