2 LASD Deputies Plead Not Guilty To Charges They Filed False Reports, Committed Perjury

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony charges that they filed false reports and committed perjury related to traffic stops made in 2016.

The charges against Michael Berk, 58, and Justin Fink, 40, allege that between September and November 2016 the two issued false citations to other law enforcement officers who were caught speeding. Prosecutors said the pair issued citations for not having proof of insurance — though the drivers had valid insurance — instead of speeding tickets.

According to the complaint, the alleged misconduct came to light after a Los Angeles deputy police chief told a sheriff's captain that the deputies had possibly issued false traffic tickets.

Bail was set at $25,000 for each defendant. If convicted as charged, Berk faces a possible maximum sentence of five years in state prison, while Fisk faces up to three years and eight months in prison.

The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau.

Berk and Fink are scheduled to be back in court in February of next year.