New Mexico Officer Accused of Taking Sexual Bribes

Aug. 22, 2011
Albuquerque Officer Matt Kindle was arrested in an undercover sting after investigators said he tried to get a prostitute out of trouble in exchange for sexual favors.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --

New details were revealed about an Albuquerque police officer accused of having a bizarre encounter with a prostitute.

Matt Kindle was arrested in an undercover sting on Wednesday after investigators said he tried to get a prostitute out of trouble in exchange for sexual favors. He was charged with demanding or receiving a bribe.

He pleaded not guilty when he faced a judge on Friday.

"Right now, I have some information I'm not going to share. We will talk to you at a later date," said Kindle's lawyer, John D'Amato.

Police Chief Ray Schultz said, "(An) information came (from) an escort that she felt there was inappropriate contact by a member of this agency. We didn't look the other way."

Schultz said the department put together a sting. Court documents showed Kindle called a decoy posing as an escort and they met up at the Suburban Hotel on his lunch break.

Investigators said the woman asked Kindle if he could help her, claiming she owed money to the hotel. Documents noted that Kindle said he would help her, then he exposed himself and agreed to have sexual contact with her.

Police said when the decoy asked if everything would be OK with that debt, Kindle promised he would take care of it.

"We were able to confirm this officer was acting inappropriately," Schultz said.

Kindle was put on administrative leave immediately.

Schultz said he has 10 days to decide if he would fire Kindle or put him on suspension.

Court documents show Kindle was suspected of being part of a prostitution ring called Private Ice in 2008. He was never charged in connection to it.

Copyright 2011 by KOAT.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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