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A Spring Township police officer resigned this month after admitting to putting false information in reports.<\/p>\n
Abby Drey<\/p>\n
Centre Daily Times, file<\/p>\n
Centre County prosecutors are reviewing more than 50 criminal cases after a Spring Township police officer, who has since resigned, admitted to putting false information in at least some of his reports.<\/p>\n
Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said Friday that the state attorney general\u2019s office has also agreed to accept an investigation into the matter.<\/p>\n
Cantorna said that his office learned of the issue less than two weeks ago. Officer Stephen T. Kutches disclosed the misconduct in a pre-employment questionnaire for a job with the Pennsylvania State Police.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember when I first started and had my first couple [of] DUI arrests, I would never see distinct + sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, but still put it in my reports,\u201d Kutches allegedly wrote in the questionnaire, according to a notice filed by county prosecutors.<\/p>\n
Nystagmus is rapid, uncontrollable eye movements and is often used in DUI investigations as a sign of impairment. The Centre Daily Times was not immediately able to confirm the exact nature of the question to which Kutches responded.<\/p>\n
Cantorna said state police immediately notified Spring Township police Chief Adam Salyards, who in turn notified prosecutors. Kutches also recorded a person over the phone without their consent, according to the notice from the DA\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Cantorna said there is no indication of wrongful arrests, but acknowledged the disclosure called Kutches\u2019 credibility into question. Prosecutors on Friday intended to drop four open DUI cases that relied on Kutches\u2019 observations, including one against a Penns Valley man who was scheduled to be sentenced Monday.<\/p>\n
Centre County First Assistant Public Defender Lora Rupert expressed surprise at the misconduct.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad sentencing proceeded, he would have faced a loss of liberty,\u201d Rupert said in a text message to the CDT, referring to her client. \u201c… Thankfully, the case has been dismissed and our office is looking into other individuals who may have been affected by this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defense attorney Matt McClenahen, who represented a Pennsylvania woman that had been charged with DUI, said the dropped charges were a \u201cvery positive and unexpected development for my client, but sometimes you get your wins wherever you can get them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe DA\u2019s office did the proper thing by dismissing the charges because if there was a trial and this officer were subject to cross-examination about his credibility, that would undermine the credibility of all police officers,\u201d McClenahen said.<\/p>\n
Kutches was hired by Spring Township police in December 2021. He was working as a patrolman as of early February and was making $37.23 an hour, about $77,450 per year. An attempt to reach him Friday was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
His resignation was effective April 18. Salyards said in a news release he received information about the reports in late March, immediately initiated an internal affairs investigation and placed Kutches on administrative leave. Salyards said he then forwarded all information to Cantorna\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe officer did not work any shifts from the time the information was received through his resignation,\u201d Salyards said in a written statement. \u201cThe Spring Township Police Department has fully cooperated with the District Attorney\u2019s Office and all other relevant governmental agencies and will continue to do so as the matter proceeds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIntegrity and public trust are central to our mission, and we will continue building them with our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cantorna said his office had no prior concerns with Kutches\u2019 credibility, and the county\u2019s top prosecutor also said neither supervisors nor prosecutors had a reason to doubt the falsified reports before Kutches\u2019 disclosure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will require us to review any case where issues are raised,\u201d Cantorna added. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to individually review them.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Centre](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/000BernieMcKenna.JPG\" "\\"000BernieMcKenna.JPG\\"")
Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna during a press conference on Feb. 6, 2026. Abby Drey adrey@centredaily.com
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