Two Long Beach police officers arrested in false reports case

LONG BEACH — Two Southern California police officers have been arrested in connection with filing false reports about a firearms arrest more than three years ago, authorities said.

Long Beach Police Officers Dedier Reyes and David Salcedo voluntarily surrendered on Friday. They have been suspended from the department.

It was not immediately known if they had attorneys who could speak on their behalf and the Long Beach Police Officers Association, the union that represents officers, sergeants and lieutenants, did not return requests for comment on Saturday.

The officers continued to work until their arrests even though Long Beach detectives noticed in February 2018 that there were discrepancies between their police reports about a firearms arrest and surveillance video.

“Through their review, detectives learned that the officers’ actions were inconsistent with their written reports,” Long Beach police said in a news release Friday.

Police immediately released the person who was arrested and did not seek charges against him.

The department is reviewing Reyes and Salcedo's previous reports and arrests. Representatives from the agency did not return a request for additional details on Saturday, such as why the officers remained on the job after the discrepancies were noticed.

Long Beach detectives submitted a criminal case against Reyes and Salcedo in January 2019 to prosecutors. Arrest warrants for the officers were not issued until Friday.

Reyes, 38, was released on $2 bail on Friday. The 16-year officer was booked on suspicion of perjury, filing a false police report and filing a false government document.

Salcedo, 28, was released on $1 bail. The 5-year officer was booked on suspicion of filing a false police report and filing a false government document.