Anaheim police officer charged with lying about driver consenting to car search

An Anaheim police officer was charged this week for filing a false police report and perjury stemming from an April 2018 traffic stop, authorities said Friday.

Dillon Avila, 28, faces two felony counts after he claimed on a police report that the driver in the traffic stop consented to a vehicle search, though body camera footage showed that was not true, officials said.

Avila also testified in court that the driver had consented to the search, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

If convicted, Avila could be sentenced to a maximum of four years and eight months in  prison.

Avila was sworn in as an Anaheim officer in January 2016. He has been on paid administrative leave since the inconsistencies were discovered, department spokesman Sgt. Shane Carringer said.

According to prosecutors, Avila and his partner conducted a traffic stop during which the driver “repeatedly stated he did not consent to having his vehicle searched.”

“Despite acknowledging that the defendant did not consent, Avila wrote in an April 29, 2018 police report that the driver consented to the search,” a statement from the District Attorney’s office reads.

Officers found drugs and evidence of drug sales during the search.

The driver was charged with felony counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and another of selling or transporting a controlled substance.

Months later during a preliminary hearing in February 2019, Avila testified that the driver had consented to the search.

The District Attorney’s office dismissed the charges against the driver later that month “once it confirmed the misconduct,” prosecutors said.

On Friday, Anaheim police Chief Jorge Cisneros addressed the charges in a recorded message.

Cisneros said that in November 2019, prosecutors contacted Anaheim police about discrepancies in the case. Prosecutors said that body camera footage confirmed the driver had not consented to the search.

“When an incident questioning the integrity of an officer of the law occurs, undoubtedly, the public trust erodes, damaging the confidence our officers work so hard to build, not only in the Anaheim Police Department but in the entire system,” Cisneros said.

“I give you my word that your officers will continue to provide you with the service you deserve as we work to reinforce the trust that you have in us.”