A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deputy and former Lakewood Police Department patrol agent was arrested Tuesday for allegedly manipulating his body-worn camera during arrests.

Christopher Gearhart, who worked for Lakewood as a patrol agent from January 2019 until his resignation in September 2025, faces charges of official misconduct and cybercrime for muting his body-worn camera and deleting its recordings during arrests, according to Tuesday news releases from the department and the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

The former agent also allegedly had explicit photographs and sexual communications on his assigned work cell phone, according to the judicial release. Since he resigned from the department, where he allegedly committed the offenses, he has taken up employment as a non-sworn booking deputy with the Department of Homeland Security at an ICE facility in Denver.

“The badge represents a sacred bond between this organization and the citizens of Lakewood,” said Lakewood Chief of Police Philip Smith in the city’s release. “I want to be clear to the survivors and to every resident of this city: We hear you, and we take these allegations with profound urgency. There is no room in this organization for anyone who exploits their authority.”

Arapahoe County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Gearhart on Tuesday in connection with the crimes, which took place between July 2023 and July 2025. A $20,000 bond was set, according to the releases.

The allegations stemmed from a call involving a 28-year-old intoxicated woman that Gearhart and four other Lakewood officers responded to on July 22 of last year, according to the judicial release. During that call, the woman said she recognized Gearhart from a previous incident wherein he tried to have sex with her and intentionally manipulated his body-worn camera.

Two days after that incident, the other agents who were present for the call reported the allegations to the LPD’s internal affairs unit, which initiated an internal investigation and placed Gearhart on administrative leave, according to the judicial release.

During that investigation, officials audited Gearhart’s body-worn camera and downloaded the contents of his cell phone. Their findings indicated he had allegedly committed criminal offenses. Police requested that the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office conduct an independent investigation into the allegations a month later.

Gearhart resigned on Sept. 15, just over two weeks after the office took over the investigation, according to the judicial release. That investigation later resulted in the filing of 10 charges against the former agent.

While investigators were eventually able to identify evidence sufficient for probable cause for additional criminal offenses relating to the explicit photographs and communications, the statute of limitations applicable in this situation prevents Gearhart from being prosecuted in connection with those allegations, according to the judicial release.