Deputy charged after trying to help fellow deputy cover up DUI crash in Stevenson Ranch, Gascón says
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A member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau has been charged for trying to cover up another deputy’s DUI, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
Gregory Davis, 54, faces five counts related to the alleged DUI of Carlos Lopez last year, Gascón’s office said in a news release.
According to prosecutors, Lopez was driving while under the influence of alcohol when he crashed his LASD SUV in Stevenson Ranch on Aug. 26, 2022.
When Davis arrived on scene, he “pulled his fellow deputy’s limp body out of the crashed SUV and placed him in the vehicle of his fellow deputy’s wife, who drove him home,” the release said.
“Prosecutors say Davis then attempted to move the deputy’s SUV before an off-duty LAPD officer passing by called authorities. Davis initially did not identify himself as an off-duty deputy,” the release added.
Both Davis and Lopez are members of the SEB, which oversees the department’s SWAT operations, and Davis “works for a specialized unit that includes the department’s High-Risk Tactical/Rescue Teams,” prosecutors said.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Lopez, who was off duty at the time, was reported missing. He was found less than an hour later at his home.
“Ensuring law enforcement accountability is essential to maintaining public trust,” Gascón said. “A law enforcement officer obstructing an investigation into unlawful conduct by another deputy undermines the integrity of the justice system. We will hold accountable both the officers who committed misconduct and those who participated in covering it up. No one is above the law, especially not those that are sworn to uphold it.”
Davis faces a felony charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice and misdemeanors of giving false information to a police officer and three counts of delay and/or obstructing an investigation.
He is expected to turn himself in at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center on Sept. 27.
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