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The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Monday that it's investigating several LAPD officers accused of falsifying traffic-stop data leading to people being falsely identified or labeled as gang members.

The investigation began in early 2019 after the police department received written correspondence from a San Fernando Valley mother claiming that her son had been misidentified as a gang member, LAPD said.

An LAPD supervisor reviewed body-worn video and other evidence and information, and discovered several inaccuracies in the documentation completed by the officer in the case.

In a statement released by the police department, LAPD says:

"The parent was notified that her son would not be identified as a gang member and any references to him as such were removed. Concurrently, the Department initiated a personnel investigation into the actions of three involved officers.

Over the course of several months, Internal Affairs investigators have continued their investigation resulting in identifying additional inaccuracies in documentation on field interview cards completed by those officers as well as others.


To date, all of the involved officers were assigned to Metropolitan Division crime suppression duties at the time the inaccurate documentation was completed. Given the serious nature of the alleged misconduct, all involved officers have been assigned to inactive duty or removed from the field.

The Department’s Internal Affairs investigation of this matter continues and the Chief of Police directed the Office of Constitutional Policing and Policies to inspect the work product of all Metropolitan Division crime suppression activities to ensure the accuracy of all documentation. If any discrepancies are found they will be forwarded to Internal Affairs Division for further investigation.

Public trust is the foundation of community policing and the LAPD has zero tolerance for any employee that would violate that trust."

“An officer’s integrity must be absolute," said LAPD Chief Michel Moore. "There is no place in the Department for any individual who would purposely falsify information on a Department report.”

The Los Angeles Police Department is working with the L.A. County District Attorney’s office on any potential criminal charges that may come to light from any misconduct in this case.