CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer is facing a harassment charge in the Rock Hill, South Carolina area.
The department announced Tuesday that Dylen Lineberger was arrested in Lincolnton following a traffic stop. He was taken into custody by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and will be extradited to South Carolina. CMPD notes the Rock Hill Police Department is the lead agency and directed further questions to them.
Lineberger was off-duty when he was arrested and has been placed on administrative leave without pay as CMPD handles an Internal Affairs investigation. He was hired in Jan. 2016 and was most recently assigned to the department's Central Division.
Rock Hill Police told WCNC Charlotte it received a complaint about vandalism against several vehicles along Grady Drive on Oct. 22. The same victim filed a harassment complaint just two days later along nearby Ebenezer Road. A warrant against Lineberger was obtained on Oct. 25 and he was entered as a wanted person into the National Crime Information Center. Police said he was arrested Tuesday, Oct. 29.
He is expected to face a Rock Hill judge for the first time on Thursday.
CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings provided a statement following Lineberger's arrest:
I am tremendously disappointed to learn of the arrest of Officer Lineberger. Any time an officer is arrested, it shakes the public’s confidence in law enforcement and erodes trust in policing. We work daily to improve relationships with the community and will continue to do so. We have high expectations for our men and women in uniform, but when our officers are not at work, we expect them to abide by the same laws they are sworn to uphold.
Rock Hill is just south of the border shared with North Carolina and South Carolina, about 27 miles south of Charlotte.