Photo: Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A Los Angeles police officer has been charged with one felony count each of filing a false report and perjury stemming from a traffic stop in the Hollywood area just over two years ago, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced today.
Alejandro Castillo -- described by the Los Angeles Police Department as a 13-year veteran LAPD officer -- was arrested July 20 by investigators from the department's Internal Affairs Division, police at the time.
The LAPD's Internal Affairs Division began investigating Castillo -- who was assigned to the West Traffic Division -- after unspecified concerns were identified by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office while reviewing body- worn videos for DUI arrests the officer made in October 2019, police said in a statement.
``Investigators working in partnership with the Justice System Integrity Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office established probable cause to believe that the officer's BWV footage was inconsistent with the written report,'' according to the LAPD.
The motorist -- who had been stopped Oct. 18, 2019, for allegedly making an unsafe left turn -- was given a sobriety test and subsequently arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to the District Attorney's Office.
DUI charges were not filed against the driver as a result of the investigation.
Castillo, 49, was relieved of his police powers, booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center and released on his own recognizance.
``The allegations of an officer falsifying a police report are extremely troubling and there must be accountability,'' LAPD Chief Michel Moore said in a statement shortly after the officer's arrest.
District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement announcing the charges, ``We depend on law enforcement officers to tell the truth, especially when failure to do so jeopardizes another person's liberty.''