A Fullerton police officer was charged Wednesday with filing a report that falsely accused a man of resisting arrest.

Miguel Siliceo, 51, faces a felony count of making a false report by a peace officer, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Siliceo was on patrol July 9, 2015, in downtown Fullerton and detained an unidentified man on suspicion of resisting arrest. Siliceo’s account of the arrest described the man as charging at Siliceo’s partner during the arrest of another suspect.

Prosecutors filed a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest on the unidentified man. But the charges were dropped after body-worn cameras from other officers did not corroborate the account of events described in Siliceo’s police report, prosecutors said.


The case was investigated by the district attorney’s Special Prosecutions Unit, and authorities said the Fullerton Police Department provided “full cooperation” with the probe.

Fullerton Police Sgt. Kathryn Hamel told the Orange County Register that Siliceo was placed on paid administrative leave in October. The department is conducting an internal affairs review, Hamel told the newspaper. Additional details on the officer’s employment status were not immediately available.

Siliceo is scheduled to be arraigned April 5 in Santa Ana.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com


Twitter: @MattHjourno

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