PALO ALTO — Another case of a law enforcement officer secretly obtaining an explicit photo of a female arrestee emerged Wednesday with the release of an independent police auditor’s report on a Palo Alto detective who forwarded a burglary suspect’s picture to his supervisor.

The report, which includes no names or dates and only summarizes the department’s internal probe, says the detective received some type of discipline, but the auditor told this newspaper that he remains on the force.

Police Auditor Mike Gennaco said the case was not forwarded to a district attorney’s office for review, despite a recent similar California Highway Patrol case that resulted in felony computer theft charges.

“That’s a good question,” Gennaco said when asked about the similarities between the incidents. “I’m not sure how parallel the two cases are. The dissemination was all internal in this case. You’d have to ask the police department about that.”

A department spokesman declined to discuss specifics on the case Wednesday, saying it was a confidential personnel matter.

Dublin CHP Officer Sean Harrington has pleaded not guilty to charges that he stole female DUI suspects’ racy cellphone photos and forwarded them to colleagues. In his interview with investigators, Harrington said it was a widespread practice among CHP officers, according to court documents, but officials with the state law enforcement agency have insisted it was an isolated case.

The Palo Alto police case was detailed in the city’s independent police auditor biannual report and was released before it was presented to the City Council in December.

The incident occurred in fall 2013 during the investigation of an alleged Palo Alto burglary.

During the interrogation, a detective assisting on the case reviewed the arrestee’s cellphone to find out who she was sending stolen goods to and other photographic evidence that might assist the investigation, according to the report.

“On the cellphone, the detective located a photograph of the arrestee in which she was scantily clad. He then sent that photograph by text message to an acting supervisory detective who was also working on the investigation,” the report stated.

The woman got her phone back during the interview and was asked to help identify the person to whom she gave stolen property. While looking at her phone, the unidentified woman realized her explicit photo had been forwarded and alerted a different detective, who went to a sergeant.

The supervisory detective who received the texted photo did not report the incident to the sergeant for “more than two weeks after the arrest,” according to the report. The sergeant later “counseled” the detective on reporting such incidents promptly.

“The detective acknowledged that waiting was not the appropriate course of action and assured the sergeant that he would promptly report such incidents in the future,” according to the report. The sergeant opened an internal investigation.

At the end of the internal probe, Palo Alto police concluded there was “no legitimate law enforcement reason for the detective ‘texting’ the photograph in the way and manner that he did, and that, in fact, the conduct could have easily left someone with the impression that it was sent as a joke,” according to the report.

In the CHP case, Harrington also referred to the practice as a “game” and his lawyer said he viewed it as a “joke.”

However, the Palo Alto officer was not charged with a crime.

“PAPD concluded that the detective exercised poor judgment by sending the photograph, that the act was unbecoming for an officer and disrespectful to the arrestee, and that it reflected unfavorably upon the Department and its members,” the report stated. “PAPD found that the detective had violated Department policy and held him accountable for the transgression.”

The independent police auditor found the probe “thorough” and agreed with the department’s analysis and findings while also voicing concerns over the supervisory detective’s failure to promptly report the incident.

“Ideally, when the ‘texting’ was discovered, the acting supervisor should have immediately informed command staff at the station of the incident so that an investigation into the incident could have proceeded immediately,” the auditor wrote, calling the time delay “problematic and worth managerial attention.”

In addition, the report found the sergeant instructed the supervisory detective to delete the photo from his cellphone to “prevent any further unintentional dissemination of the photograph.” The auditor recommended a “screen shot” of the text or some other evidentiary preservation of the photo should have been taken.

Palo Alto police Lt. Zachary Perron said his department could not comment on an internal probe, but he confirmed the detective was disciplined.

“The (auditor) releases more facts of internal administrative investigations than we are able to release ourselves,” Perron wrote. “We can only confirm that the information contained in the report is accurate; we are prevented by state law from providing any further details on the case.

“The (auditor) found that the Department’s investigation had framed the issues appropriately and investigated them thoroughly,” he wrote. “The (auditor) concurred with the Department’s findings in the case, as well as with our chosen disposition.”

The Palo Alto search of the woman’s cellphone was before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last summer that police officers must get warrants to search cellphones.

Contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026. Follow him at Twitter.com/mgafni.