Perjury Conviction for LAPD Officer Who Filed False Report in Hollywood DUI Arrest

The Los Angeles Times reports that a Los Angeles Police Department Officer was convicted of perjury on Monday after they filed a false report in 2019 about a DUI arrest in Hollywood.

Jurors deliberated for approximately 2 hours before rendering a guilty verdict against the officer. District Attorney Gascon told reporters that Officer Alejandro Castillo, 50, is facing four years and eight months in prison on two felony counts.  

“When an officer lies in the course of their investigation, it can have devastating consequences, including wrongful incarceration and sometimes wrongful convictions,” the D.A. said. “We cannot have the people we entrusted to take away a person’s liberty lying in their official capacity.”

Officer Castillo has been with the LAPD for approximately 15 years. The City Attorney’s office raised questions in 2021 regarding the officer’s body cam footage taken of an incident on October 18, 2019.

Castillo filed an arrest report, claiming that he made a traffic stop of a motorist that had made an unsafe left turn that night, nearly causing an accident. The driver was given a field sobriety test and was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

The bodycam footage, however, revealed a different story. The driver in question had actually waited for all vehicles to pass before making the turn. 

According to the District Attorney’s Office, the DUI charges against the driver were never filed.

Officer Castillo’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 12.

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