An officer with the Los Angeles Police Department has been charged with smuggling illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mambasse Koulabalo Patara may face up to five years in prison if he is convicted of federal charges filed this week. The lawman was arrested Tuesday morning after crossing a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint with two illegal immigrants in a 2006 Toyota Corolla.

“I heard what happened and I’m really shocked,” one of Mr. Patara’s neighbors told a CBS affiliate in Los Angeles on Thursday. “They’ve always just been a really nice family ever since my husband and I have lived here. […] There’s always multiple sides to every story, so I think that’s important for everyone to keep in mind […] before jumping to conclusions on these types of things.”

San Diego County authorities identified the passengers as Herman Lopez and his nephew German Ramirez Gonzalez.

Mr. Koulabalo allegedly told border agents that he was accompanied by U.S. citizens, the Department of Justice’s complaint said.

“While being interviewed by Border Patrol agents, Koulabalo showed them his LAPD badge and stated he was off-duty. … Agents later patted him down and found his service-issued gun in his waistband,” the station reported.

One of the illegal immigrants claimed to have known Mr. Koulabalo for years in addition to working on his Fontana home.

The officer has been placed on administrative leave.

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