By Brian Day, San Gabriel
Valley Tribune
LOS ANGELES >>
Prosecutors Thursday filed a felony charge against a former Baldwin Park police
officer accused of filing a false police report related to a drug arrest last
year.
Matthew DeHoog, 29, pleaded not
guilty to a count of filing a false report in Los Angeles Superior Court, Los
Angeles County District Attorney’s officials said in a written statement. Judge
Renee Korn ordered him released on his own recognizance pending his next court
appearance.
“DeHoog wrote a false police
report about a July 31, 2013 incident where a man was arrested for
investigation of possession of methamphetamine,” according to the district
attorney’s office statement.
The criminal complaint filed
against DeHoog alleges that, while working as a police officer, he filed a
report regarding the commission and investigation of a crime, “and knowingly
and intentionally included a statement and statements regarding a material
matter which the defendant knew to be false.”
But further details regarding
the alleged false police report, including the identity of the man who was
arrested, were not available.
“We’re not releasing any more
facts of the case,” district attorney’s office spokesman Greg Risling said.
“They’ll be released during the (preliminary hearing).”
The case was investigated by
DeHoog’s former colleagues at the Baldwin Park Police Department. But police
also declined to discuss the circumstances of the case.
“He’s a former police officer
with our department and he’s no longer employed by us,” Baldwin Park Police
Chief Michael Taylor said.
DeHoog’s employment with the
department ended in early January, Taylor said, however a specific time frame
was not immediately available.
The chief said he had no
further comment regarding the allegations against the former officer, or the
case filed Thursday by the district attorney’s office.
“It’s unfortunate when anything
like this happens in the law enforcement community,” Taylor said.
DeHoog was ordered to return to
court March 4 for a preliminary hearing setting, Risling said.
DeHoog could not be reached for
comment Thursday.
Under state law, DeHoog faces
up to three years in prison if convicted as charged.
The July, 2013, incident was
not DeHoog’s first time being involved in a controversial arrest.
He, along with two other
Baldwin Park police officers, arrested then-city councilman Anthony Bejarano on
suspicion of being drunk in public.
The Los Angeles County District
Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to file any charge against Bejarano, and
the former councilman filed a personnel complaint against his arresting
officers. He denied he was drunk or uncooperative, as was stated in the
officers’ report.
An internal department review
into the situation was conducted and completed, though the results were never
made public, as then-police chief Lili Hadsell said the issue was a
confidential personnel matter.