LAPD Officer Alejandro Castillo Charged With Filing False Report In 2019 DUI Arrest
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — An LAPD officer is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday to face charges he lied about a man driving under the influence in 2019.
Alejandro Castillo, 49, and a 13-year veteran of the LAPD, was charged with one count each of felony filing a false report and perjury, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón. Castillo has been relieved of his police powers, according to the LAPD.
According to Gascon, Castillo stopped a man driving in the Hollywood area on Oct. 18, 2019 for allegedly making an unsafe left turn. The driver was given a sobriety test and arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
The LAPD launched the investigation after the City Attorney's Office reviewed Castillo's body-worn video for DUI arrests in October of 2019. Investigators working with the LA County DA's Justice System Integrity Division "established probable cause to believe that the officer's BWV footage was inconsistent with the written report."
A DUI charge was not filed against the driver.
"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. He added that the department is cooperating fully with the LA County District Attorney's Office in this investigation.
Castillo was charged with filing a false report under the penalty of perjury in the case, with the case being filed for warrant on July 20, according to Gascón's office.
"We depend on law enforcement officers to tell the truth, especially when failure to do so jeopardizes another person's liberty," Gascón said in a statement.
The case remains under investigation by the LAPD's Internal Affairs Group.
