Millsboro police officer indicted for tampering with drugs

June 1, 2023

Millsboro Police Department Sgt. Matthew Dufour — who, in 2016, was named MPD Officer of the Year, eliciting praise from Chief Brian Calloway, who said he made a significant difference in the community — has been indicted by the Department of Justice's Division of Civil Rights & Public Trust and charged with tampering with, and using, drugs stored in the department's evidence locker.

Dufour, 34, evidence custodian for the police department since July 2022, was charged with second-degree forgery, a Class G felony; two counts of offering a false instrument for filing, a Class A misdemeanor; four counts of obtaining controlled substances by theft, a Class F felony; and official misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor, according to the Delaware Department of Justice.

If convicted on all charges, he faces a sentence of up to 27 years in prison. Now Dufour is on administrative leave without pay or benefits.

On the morning of Feb. 19, Dufour was discovered, unresponsive, in his marked police vehicle, exhibiting signs of a drug overdose, including respiratory distress. He was treated at the scene, including with Naloxone and CPR, before being transported to a hospital for further treatment.

Toxicology analysis revealed the presence of fentanyl, oxycodone and cocaine in his system. Two days later, oxycodone pills were found in his vehicle, according to the indictment.

A subsequent investigation, including a complete audit of all drug evidence in police custody, indicated Dufour allegedly deliberately mishandled drug evidence set for destruction on as many as 13 occasions, according to the DOJ.

His indictment was secured by the Division of Civil Rights & Public Trust, following investigations led by the Delaware State Police and Millsboro Police Department. His actions were reported to the Department of Justice by officials at the police department, who "began an investigation into Dufour's actions as soon as they became aware of them, and subsequently referred the investigation to Delaware State Police."

"We are empathetic to everyone grappling with drug use, and are grateful that the defendant survived his overdose, but accountability matters, particularly in matters of public trust," Attorney General Kathy Jennings said.

"The defendant's actions put his own life in danger, jeopardized the reputation of his department and effectively erased the work of his fellow officers who led lawful investigations. I'm grateful as always to the staff of our Division of Civil Rights & Public Trust for securing this indictment, and to our partners in Millsboro PD and Delaware State Police who immediately did the right thing and cooperated with our office throughout this process," she said.

Calloway spotlighted the importance of an officer's honor, saying it is the "characteristic that all law enforcement must uphold."

"Officers must always do the right thing, even when no one is watching. When our agency discovered an officer was suspected of criminal misconduct, our department immediately reported these allegations to the Department of Justice, requesting a full investigation. I want to commend the men and women of the Millsboro Police Department who continue to service our community with honor, because that is the commitment our agency has made to our community," Calloway said.

In one instance, Dufour was "found to have removed suspected cocaine from an evidence envelope, then, to conceal his actions, replaced it with suspected cocaine from a separate case's envelope and forged another Millsboro officer's initials without his permission."

According to the indictment, the initials MPG were written on the evidence envelopes. They are the initials of Officer Michael Paul Gorman and were written without Gorman's permission. Gorman was one of the officers who responded when Dufour overdosed.

Dufour is also accused of logging false entries into LEISS, a law-enforcement information system.

Other instances of similar misconduct allegedly occurred from November 2022 until February this year, officials said.

The investigation revealed Dufour allegedly only tampered with evidence on closed cases and that was going to be destroyed, according to the DOJ.