What if police lie on a police report

Regardless of whether the police report was signed under penalty of perjury, the police officer who knowingly provides false information in his or her report can be prosecuted. The key factor in determining whether or not the inaccurate or false police report constitutes police misconduct is to prove or disprove that the false statements provided in the report were knowingly and intentionally made false when writing the report.

In many cases, police officers may misrepresent certain details of an accident or incident based on misperception or inaccurate recollection of memories. Many police reports are written by cops hours or even days after witnessing or investigating a certain criminal or personal injury crime. If a mistake in a police report was made unintentionally, accidentally and unknowingly, the police officer may not be held liable for police misconduct. If an officer is lying or providing false information with an intent to deceive, he or she may be prosecuted under California perjury laws.

Only an experienced lawyer can poke holes in the police report and determine whether or not the statements provided by the officer were knowingly and intentionally false. Call our offices at or complete this contact form. Our Los Angeles car accident law firm accepts cases on referral from other lawyers throughout California.

In two recent cases, officers appeared to have given false statements about eyewitness testimony. Why do police lie? In other cases, the motive is to convict someone, regardless of whether or not that person actually committed the crime. Some officers have stated they are pressured by their supervisors to write more tickets, to reach an arrest quota, or to close a case.

The 25 cases identified by the Times are a small portion of those in which officers are believed to have lied. This is because a large majority of cases result in plea deals. According to the article, in , for example, there were slightly more than guilty pleas, dismissals, or other non-trial outcomes for each criminal case in New York City that went to trial and resulted in a verdict.

There were 1, trial verdicts in criminal cases that year, while , criminal cases were resolved without a trial. The persistence of lying by the police has inevitably become a contributing factor to wrongful convictions, in New York City and beyond. Read the full article here. Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project. Read More. What prompts it.

It's fairly common for officers to lie in police reports, said Philip Stinson, a criminologist and professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University. Stinson has tracked arrest cases of nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers who have been charged with at least one crime from to His research shows that out of more than 10, officer arrest cases, about 6.

About a quarter of those cases involving false reports or statements also involved alleged acts of police violence -- and he said the problem is probably more common than the data suggests. Video captures Buffalo police push elderly man to the ground So why do officers lie in police statements?

Self-preservation: One of the reasons is simple: to avoid the consequences. That's according to David Thomas, a professor of forensic studies and criminal justice at Florida Gulf Coast University and a retired police officer.

When officers misrepresent incidents in police reports, it is often to justify the use of excessive force or an unlawful arrest, he said. The officer knows that they have made a mistake and are trying to avoid losing their job, criminal charges or other disciplinary actions.

To justify an action: Another reason is what's known as "noble cause corruption," said Philip Stinson, a criminologist and professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University. Officers might lie in police reports to justify an action they took, whether the use of force or a questionable arrest. Police are often operating under the mindset that they are keeping communities safe or getting criminals off the streets.

So when they lie, the idea is that the ends justify the means -- that their actions were ultimately for a good cause.

How we can start systemically reforming the police. Even if there is video of the incident showing otherwise, many officers believe that their word will mean more than the tape, Thomas said. A common argument that officers make when a video shows them acting in questionable ways is that the public often doesn't see what happened at the beginning, he said. So some officers will tell a story that justifies what viewers saw in the recording.

What perpetuates it. Time and time again, videos have surfaced that have contradicted what police said in their initial statements. This section also makes it a misdemeanor to give a false report to a grand jury. Common examples of this crime are falsely reporting a theft to collect on insurance or falsely alleging a domestic violence report in order to retaliate against a spouse. A person making a false report may be charged with other more serious charges, for example perjury or fraud, in addition to this misdemeanor charge.

A false statement defense lawyer in Orange County can help you try to avert or minimize the consequences. When someone is lawfully detained, for example during a traffic stop or a criminal investigation, or when someone is lawfully arrested, he or she must truthfully tell the officer who he or she is.

That means, the person detained or arrested must give his or her true name and other identifying information, such as date of birth and address, and present his or her authentic identification. Failing to do so is a misdemeanor under Penal Code section The crime requires that the person making the false representation knows that the person to whom the false information is given is a peace officer engaged in his or her duties as a peace officer.

More serious charges can also apply, such as evading arrest. This code section very simply states: "No person shall give, either orally or in writing, information to a peace officer while in the performance of his duties under the provisions of this code when such person knows that the information is false.