Officer charged with breaking into evidence room before OD

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A former Pennsylvania police officer who was found unconscious of an apparent overdose at the station has been charged with stealing drugs seized as evidence and hammering a hole in the wall of the secured evidence room.

Former Johnstown officer William Slisz was arraigned Thursday on charges including burglary and evidence tampering.

State police say Slisz began stealing heroin from a temporary evidence locker in 2015 and later stole from the secure room. They say he then lost access to the room and crawled through the ceiling into a colleague’s office to get the key.

On Sept. 18, 2016, they say he hammered a hole in the evidence room wall before being found unconscious and revived with an anti-overdose medication.

Slisz’s lawyer says he accepts responsibility and has completed treatment.