Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that they filed false reports and committed perjury in connection with traffic stops they made in 2016 while working at the Santa Clarita Valley station.
Michael Berk, 58, and Justin Fisk, 40, are accused of stopping motorists — who wound up being law enforcement officers — for speeding violations between September and November 2016 and issuing them citations for not having proof of insurance, even though the drivers had valid insurance, instead of giving them speeding tickets.
The alleged misconduct came to light after a Los Angeles deputy police chief told a sheriff’s captain that the two deputies may have issued falsified traffic tickets, according to the complaint.
Berk is charged with four felony counts each of filing a false report and perjury, and could face up to five years in state prison if convicted as charged, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Fisk is charged with two felony counts each of filing a false report and perjury and could face up to three years and eight months behind bars.
The case stems from an investigation by the Sheriff’s Department’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau.
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