WATCH: US cop accidentally records himself planting drugs

WATCH: US cop accidentally records himself planting drugs

Footage released on Thursday showed Baltimore police officer Richard Pinheiro apparently planting drugs in an abandoned yard.

The footage was shot in January on the officer's body camera and showed two of Pinheiro's colleagues witnessing him place a bag of drugs in a yard full of trash. After leaving the area, Pinheiro turns his camera on manually and returns alone, to appear as if he just discovered the drugs.

The sound turns on half-way through the footage when the officer activates the body camera himself. He can be heard saying "I'm gonna check here" as he re-enters the site. However, his earlier actions were recorded as well because body cameras are often equipped to save the 30 seconds prior to being manually turned on.

An internal investigation into the incident has been launched, according to a police department spokesperson.

Two men were arrested as a result of Pinheiro's falsified investigation and were due to go on trial in July. But following the emergence of the footage the court immediately dropped the case.

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