LAPD officer convicted of perjury, filing false report in 2019 DUI arrest in Hollywood

Salvador Hernandez
·1 min read
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LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 08: U.S. Rep. Karen Bass said that as mayor she would move 250 Los Angeles police officers out of desk jobs and into patrols, while ensuring that the department returns to its authorized strength of 9,700 officers. Photographed at the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
LAPD Officer Alejandro Castillo was convicted on Monday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

A Los Angeles police officer was convicted Monday of perjury for filing a false police report about a 2019 driving-under-the-influence stop in Hollywood.

Jurors deliberated for two hours before finding Officer Alejandro Castillo, 50, guilty on two felony counts. He faces up to four years and eight months in state prison, according to the L.A. County district attorney's office.

"When an officer lies in the course of their investigation it can have devastating consequences including wrongful incarceration and sometimes wrongful convictions," Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement. "We cannot have the people we entrusted to take away a person's liberty lying in their official capacity."

Castillo, a 15-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, was arrested in July 2021 after the city attorney's office raised concerns over the officer's body-worn camera during the DUI arrest on Oct. 18, 2019.

Castillo allegedly stopped the driver after the man made an unsafe left turn and nearly caused an accident. The driver was given a sobriety test and arrested on suspicion of DUI.

Investigators found the officer's body camera showed the driver waited for all vehicles to pass before making the left turn, according to the district attorney's office.

DUI charges were never filed against the driver.

Castillo is scheduled to be sentenced May 12.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.