Off-duty LASD deputy accused of trying to cover up other deputy's alleged DUI crash
LOS ANGELES - Criminal charges have been filed against a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who was off-duty when he allegedly tried to cover up a fellow off-duty deputy's crash of a patrol vehicle last summer in Stevenson Ranch, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Wednesday.
Gregory Davis, 54, is set to be arraigned Sept. 27 at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on one felony count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one misdemeanor count of giving false information to a peace officer and three misdemeanor counts of delaying and/or obstructing an investigation, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Davis is accused of pulling the off-duty deputy's limp body out of the patrol SUV last Aug. 26 and placing him in the vehicle of his fellow deputy's wife, who drove him home, according to the District Attorney's Office.
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Davis — who works for a specialized unit that includes the department's High-Risk Tactical/Rescue Teams — allegedly attempted to move the patrol SUV before a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer who was passing by called authorities, and did not initially identify himself as an off-duty deputy, according to prosecutors.
The other deputy, Carlos Lopez, was charged earlier this year with driving under the influence. He is awaiting a pretrial hearing Oct. 17 in East Los Angeles, according to court records.
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"A law enforcement officer obstructing an investigation into unlawful conduct by another deputy undermines the integrity of the justice system," Gascón said in a statement announcing the charges against Davis. "We will hold accountable both the officer who committed misconduct and those who participated in covering it up. No one is above the law, especially not those that are sworn to uphold it."
The employment status of the two sheriff's deputies was not immediately available.
The case stemmed from an investigation by the sheriff's Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau and the District Attorney's Office's Justice System Integrity Division.