San Jose Police Officer Accused Of Writing Phony Traffic Citations
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A 23-year veteran San Jose police officer has been charged with six felonies in writing phony traffic citations last month against two people, including his former attorney, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
George Chavez, 51, has been charged with three felony counts of false impersonation exposing the victim to liability and three felony counts of filing a false report, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Daniel Rothbach said.
Chavez self surrendered Tuesday night after prosecutors filed the charges against him in a criminal complaint and a warrant was issued for his arrest, Rothbach said.
He was released on $60,000 bail and his arraignment on the charges is set for Dec. 10 in Superior Court in San Jose, Rothbach said.
San Jose police spokeswoman Sgt. Heather Randol said that Chavez has been placed on administrative leave.
The Police Department "swiftly and thoroughly" investigated the allegations once they came to its attention, Randol said.
"We will respect the criminal process and monitor the criminal proceedings which will be followed by an administrative review," Randol said.
The case revolves around Chavez's alleged actions against two people who were involved in a civil lawsuit with him back in 2008, Rothbach said.
Chavez, while off duty, had been in a car accident with a man named Charles Petre, Rothbach said.
The officer hired Stephen Dougan as his attorney to represent him in a civil suit from the accident, which was ultimately settled out of court, Rothbach said.
On Oct. 28 this year, from a San Jose police computer, Chavez obtained identifying information on Petre and Dougan, who both lived outside of Santa Clara County.
He then used the details to concoct a false traffic ticket against Petre and two phony citations against Dougan for parking two different cars Dougan owned in handicapped zones, Rothbach said.
On the traffic ticket, Chavez forged the signatures of Petre and that of a San Jose police officer, who was made to appear as the officer who issued the citation, Rothbach said.
Chavez also forged the signature of a second San Jose police officer on the two parking tickets issued to the lawyer, Rothbach said.
The forgeries were discovered when the officer whose name was falsely placed on the traffic ticket found out about it and reported it to his supervisor, Rothbach said.
In the course of a police investigation into the ticket, police learned about the false parking citations, Rothbach said.
Randol said that the department "brought the case to the district attorney's office and they agreed with our findings."
"We want the public to know that we set a high standard for our officers and hold them accountable when those expectations are not met," she said.
Chavez, who served about 23 years on the police force, faces a prison sentence of up to six years and four months if he is convicted, according to Rothbach.
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