A Los Angeles jury has acquitted one current and one former LAPD officer of perjury and falsifying a police report stemming from a drunk driving stop three years ago.
LAPD officer Phillip Walters and former officer Craig Allen were cleared Friday after jurors deliberated for about two hours.
The trial stemmed from a court proceeding that involved a woman cited by officers Allen and Walters for driving under the influence in 2010.
The driver’s attorney obtained dispatch audio recordings that showed another LAPD officer, Cecilio Flores, had pulled the woman over, not officers Allen and Walters. But Allen and Walters testified at separate hearings that they witnessed the woman driving under the influence.
After Allen admitted the officer’s voice on the recording was not his, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office dropped the DUI case against the woman, and instead filed perjury charges against the officers.
Allen lost his job with the LAPD but his attorney Bill Seki says they plan to appeal that LAPD Board of Rights hearing.
"We're hoping to get the Chief to get a look at it," he said.
A similar LAPD hearing for Walters is pending. His attorney Joel Isaacson said he hopes the acquittal will factor into the LAPD’s decision on whether to let his client stay on the force.
“He is very relieved, very happy,” Isaacson said. “He’s looking forward to going back to work and finishing his career.”
Isaacson said his client had no reason to lie about the arrest. He characterized it as a mistake and sloppy police paperwork.
This story has been updated.