Austin Officer Fired After Breaking Into Ex-girlfriend’s House, Police Say

Austin police say they've fired an officer who broke into his ex-girlfriend's house after she broke up with him.Officer Michael Stone was dismissed from the force Friday by interim police Chief Brian Manley, according to a memo released Monday. An internal affairs investigation found that Stone had repeatedly lied about the incident over the summer, The Austin American-Statesman reports. The fellow officer he'd been dating for years broke up with him in July and cut off communication with Stone, who kept trying to contact her, the memo stated. A mutual friend told Stone that he'd seen a photo of her with another man on Facebook, Fox7 reports. Stone allegedly then went to her home in Kyle, about 22 miles southwest of Austin, under the pretense of checking on her welfare July 13. The woman didn't answer the door and stayed quiet, but Stone used an electronic code to get into the garage and force his way beyond a door in the utility room, according to the memo. The woman then confronted him.Stone is accused of returning to her house again Aug. 4, KVUE reports. A neighbor told 911 dispatchers that Stone had gone around the back of the house. Stone left before Kyle officers arrived.Kyle police called Stone to tell him they needed to meet for him to get a trespass warning, but he refused, saying he needed to speak to his lawyer and supervisor first, The Statesman reports. He never contacted his supervisor, which is required under departmental policy. Austin police commanders say Stone committed criminal mischief, was untruthful to investigators and brought discredit to the department. The Associated Press contributed to this report.  Continue reading...