Two San Jose police officers have been arrested and charged after an internal investigation, the department announced Thursday. Raydarius Surry, 29, and Destiney Thompson, 30, each face one count of tampering with evidence and one count of filing a false police report. NBC Bay Area reported that they surrendered late Wednesday and were booked into Santa Clara County jail.
The two are in a relationship. Surry has been with the department for eight years and Thompson for six. Bay City News reported that both live in Gilroy.
What police say happened
According to police, Surry's report on a May 3 arrest listed a small baggie of suspected narcotics that was supposed to go to the county crime lab. It never made it into evidence. The department told Surry in August that the bag was missing.
On Aug. 12, police said, Surry stopped a pedestrian with no connection to the May 3 case and found a similar baggie. He seized it, took no other enforcement action, and did not document the stop or the seizure. He then booked the baggie into evidence under the May 3 case number.
Police said Thompson watched body-camera footage of the May 3 arrest to help Surry plan how to replace the missing evidence.
What happens next
Surry was placed on paid administrative leave on Sept. 2 and Thompson on Sept. 18. Police said investigators reviewed both officers' cases, arrests and evidence bookings and found no other problems. The case went to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, which filed charges Wednesday afternoon. The department also referred both officers to California's Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training for possible temporary decertification.
"Falsifying evidence or police reports is a crime, and our Department moved swiftly to remove both officers from duty and pursue criminal accountability," Police Chief Paul Joseph said. "These allegations, if proven to be true, constitute a failure to live up to the standards our community has a right to expect."