Two Long Beach police officers were charged Monday with felony counts associated with lying about an arrest three years ago, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced on Monday.

“Law enforcement officers have a legal and moral obligation to the people they serve to always tell the truth,” District Attorney Gascón said. “The failure of a sworn peace officer to tell the truth can result in an innocent person losing their freedom.”

The charges for Dedier Reyes, 38, and David Salcedo, 28, stem from an incident on Feb. 15, 2018, where the two officers detained two men outside of taqueria and found a bag with a loaded handgun inside, according to the press release. The officers are accused of lying about the manner in which they recovered the weapon, which led to the wrong person being arrested and held in custody.

Reyes, 16-year veteran of the LBPD and David Salcedo, a five-year veteran, were arrested on Friday, Dec. 3 on suspicion of filing a false report and falsifying a public record more than three years ago. Reyes also faces one count of perjury, according to the press release.

Arraignment will be scheduled for a later date.

During the length of the investigation, Reyes and Salcedo were assigned to the LBPD’s southern division, according to the LBPD.  It wasn’t until the LBPD learned that the DA’s office intended to charge both officers that they decided to suspend them, LBPD spokesman Richard Mejia told the post in an email, following the officers’ arrest.

The case remains under investigation by the Long Beach Police Department.

2 LBPD officers arrested on suspicion of filing false police reports, department says