PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A
Philadelphia police officer has been charged with Perjury, False Swearing in
Official Matters, Unsworn Falsification, False Reports to Law Enforcement and
Obstructing Administration of Law.
Police began investigating
36-year-old officer Steven Lupo after a complaint was made to Internal Affairs
about Lupo’s testimony in court on Oct. 18, 2011. It was alleged that Lupo, who
was assigned to the 14th Police District, testified falsely during a hearing
about circumstances surrounding the arrest of both Amiraria Farsi on Aug. 5,
2011 and Joseph Tuabma on Sept. 25, 2010.
In the case of Tuamba, Lupo was
on the 100 block of E Chelten Avenue when he and his partner encountered a 2010
Lincoln SKS parked outside a Chinese store. The officers ultimately arrested
both people in the car, Tuabma and Angel Huffman, and charged them with
possession of narcotics. Though Lupo testified the car’s windows were tinted,
three other witnesses testified in court that they were not.
In the Farsi trial, Lupo and
his partner conducted a vehicle stop of a 1998 Buick Regal driven by Farsi near
Baynton and High Streets after the car failed to stop at a stop sign. Lupo
frisked the men in the car and searched the vehicle, uncovering narcotics;
however, Lupo claimed he waited for a search warrant before doing so. That was
determined to be false.
Lupo is expected to be
suspended with intent to dismiss.
