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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Criminal charges have been filed against two Long Beach Police Department officers suspected of filing a false police report involving an arrest three years ago, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced today.
Officers Dedier Reyes, 38, and David Salcedo, 28, were charged Friday with one count each of filing a false report and falsifying a public record. Reyes is also charged with one count of perjury.
An arraignment date has not been set for the two, who were arrested Friday.
Bail was set at $2 for Reyes, a 16-year veteran of the police force, while bail was set at $1 for Salcedo, a five-year veteran of the department. Both men were subsequently released.
Reyes and Salcedo are accused of lying about the circumstances surrounding the recovery of a handgun after they detained two men outside a taqueria and found a bag with a loaded handgun inside on Feb. 15, 2018, resulting in the wrong person being arrested and briefly held in custody, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Reyes allegedly filed the report under penalty of perjury.
Long Beach Police Department detectives discovered discrepancies in the police reports and surveillance video regarding a firearms arrest conducted by Reyes and Salcedo, according to the police department.
``Through their review, detectives learned that the officers' actions were inconsistent with their written reports,'' according to the Long Beach Police Department.
``The arrested subject was immediately released and charges were not filed against him.''
Police did not identify the man who was arrested by Reyes and Salcedo.
The two officers were suspended pending the outcome of the internal affairs investigation.
``We have high standards and expectations of every employee,'' the city's police chief, Robert Luna, said in a statement Friday announcing the arrests.
``When the actions of an individual employee erode the values of our organization, and the public trust all of us have worked so hard to cultivate, we all must be held accountable.''
District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement that ``law enforcement officers have a legal and moral obligation to the people they serve to always tell the truth.''
``The failure of a sworn peace officer to tell the truth can result in an innocent person losing their freedom,'' Gascon said.
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