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Three LAPD police officers are being tried for perjury and conspiracy to obstruct justice, after prosecutors alleged they lied in court about the circumstances surrounding a drug bust.

The officers said they recovered a box of cocaine thrown by Guillermo Alarcon, immediately after he threw it.

But an apartment surveillance video showed otherwise, according to Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Geoffrey Rendon, who made closing statements last week. The video showed police officers searching more than 20 minutes for the cocaine.

LAPD Officers Richard Amio and Manuel Ortiz Former and Evan Samuel, a former officer — were members of the Hollywood “Gang Enforcement Detail."

While patrolling, Samuel and Amio said they spotted Alarcon — a suspected gang member — outside his apartment. They alleged they then chased him into a carport and immediately recovered a parcel of cocaine Alarcon had thrown toward a dumpster.

Rendon said they seem to mention the arrest report, when one officer says, “Be creative in your writing.” And another responds, “Don’t worry, sin duda (no doubt).” 

Rendon cited a flash frame in the video as partial proof that the degradation in the video was due to overuse.  Alarcon and his family — who owned the apartment complex where the surveillance camera were located — had not tampered with the tape, as the defense argued, he said. 

“Our system of justice is predicated on honesty,” Rendon said, adding that the officers didn’t tell the “whole truth.”

Rendon urged the jury to look at the facts and put less weight on the testimony of the police officers’ character witnesses — like family members and an ex-wife.

“Sometimes people we hold up disappoint us the most,” Rendon said.

Ira Salzman, an attorney for Officer Evan Samuel, urged the jury to exercise wisdom in judging the case.

His hand shook, as he pleaded for the jury to realize that the reputations of three “beautiful men” were at stake. He told the jury that there was insufficient evidence to prove the officers guilty with the video.

“Run from thinking the tape is everything,” Salzman said. “Some officer makes a stupid remark (in the tape) and that’s why he is sentenced? Huh? And now these officers face monstrous allegations.”

Alarcon and his family had easy access to the tape, Salzman said.

“By erasing it, he (Alarcon) degraded the video,” Salzman said in an interview.  

Alarcon ran from police because he was carrying “dope,” he said.

“Mr. Alarcon is no shrinking violet,” Salzman said. “He wilfully took police on a chase.”

Though Alarcon denied being a gang member, the Rebels 13 gang tattoo on Alarcon’s chest proved otherwise, Salzman said.

“The fact he was an active gang member just gets washed away,” Salzman said. “Otherwise, does it make any sense to put a huge tattoo there?”

The DA’s office and law enforcement officers did not “confront” him about being a gang member in previous interviews, he added in an interview.

“It’s real easy to bob and weave when you throw softballs,” he said in court. “Mr. Alarcon is never challenged.”

In addition, Salzman said the three officers had no reason to hold a grudge against Alarcon.

“There was no motive to do anything improper,” Salzman said. “He (Alarcon) didn’t threaten their families or to kill them.”

Salzman vouched for the honesty of the officers, based on his personal relationship with them and on character witnesses. That one officer’s ex-wife testified in favor of her husband was strong proof of his innocence.

The jury held the reputations of the officers in their hands, he said.

“The only measure of a person is whether you are honest,” Salzman said. “By being not guilty, these three brave and wonderful young men will live forever.”

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Editor's note: This article was last updated on Dec. 17th.