Cop Prosecuted for False Police Report (PC 118.1)

In September 2018, Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies Woodrow Kim and Jonathan Miramontes were on patrol when they received a call that another sheriff’s unit was following a black BMW and that someone in the BMW had a gun and had announced his gang affiliation in an earlier confrontation.

The two officers, as well as two more police cars, followed the BMW into a parking lot of Salazar Park, a popular park in East Los Angeles, but one that is well known as a gang hangout. 

One of the car’s occupants, Mr. Martinez, got out of the passenger side of the car and ran across the grass.  Officers Kim and Miramontes broke off from the other two police cars and followed Martinez.

The other two police cars followed the BMW, which continued driving after Martinez exited.  The officers from the other two cars were then involved in a shooting incident and two of those officers were shot.  The other two remaining occupants of the BMW were killed.

Meanwhile, Officers Kim and Martinez then drove up to Mr. Martinez, who slowed to a walk and walked up to the officer’s car.  As Officer Kim approached, his car door opened suddenly and bumped into Mr. Martinez, who was knocked down and tumbled several times on the ground.  He then lay motionless for a few seconds.  

Officers Kim and Miramontes then arrested Mr. Martinez.

In writing their report of the incident, officers Kim and Miramontes described Mr. Martinez’s conduct as “attempted murder on a police officer.”  In Officer Kim’s report of the incident, he stated that his car door hit Mr. Martinez, but that the impact was so minimal that Mr. Martinez was “still standing.”

However, in interviews of Mr. Martinez, he claimed that he had been “run over” by Officers Kim and Miramontes. 

 

A supervising officer, Sergeant Lennig, then interviewed both Officer Kim and Officer Miramontes separately some time later and their stories differed.  Then investigators obtained residential surveillance video footage of the incident, confirming Mr. Martinez’ version of events and showed him knocked to the ground (not “still standing” as in Officer Kim’s report).

Sergeant Lennig then forwarded his report to the Los Angeles County District Attorney, who filed both Officer Kim and Officer Miramontes with violating Penal Code § 118, filing a false police report, a felony.

To convict someone of this, the prosecution must prove that: (1) the defendant was a police officer; (2) the defendant knowingly and intentionally made a statement in a report filed with the agency that employed him; (3) the statement was made regarding the commission or investigation of a crime; (4) the statement was false; (5) the statement was material; and (6) the defendant knew the statement was false.

At the preliminary hearing on the charges, Judge Ronald Coen in the Clara Shortridge Foltz courthouse dismissed the complaint.  The prosecution then filed a motion to compel the magistrate to reinstate the complaint.  Judge Norman Shapiro denied the motion.

The District Attorney then filed an appeal with the California Court of Appeal, Second District.  

The court of appeal then reversed Judge Shapiro (and Judge Coen).  The Second District explained that in a prosecution for filing a false police report, “an omission or misstatement of fact is material if there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable person would consider it important in evaluating” the information reported against the purpose for which is it required.

However, Officer Kim’s report stating that Mr. Martinez was “still standing” was simply false based on the residential surveillance video.  In finding this part of his report material in the context of Penal Code § 118.1, the appellate court commented that this was exactly the type of “creative report writing” section 118.1 was enacted to deter.

In presenting this article, we appreciate that police reports often have inaccurate information and omissions.  However, such inaccuracies and / or omissions may not violate § 118.1 unless the inaccuracy or omission is “material,” as was Officer Kim’s false statement.