A Los Angeles police officer listed herself as on-call for a trial 70 instances after it ended to gather time beyond regulation pay, California officers say.
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A Los Angeles police officer listed herself as “on call” 70 times for a trial that had already ended to falsely collect overtime pay, California officials say.
Isabel Morales, 32, faces a charge of grand theft by embezzlement, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a Sept. 29 news release.
Morales received a subpoena to be on call to testify in a murder trial from Feb. 23 to March 8 in 2022, prosecutors said.
She listed herself as on-call for the just-ended trial 70 more times from March 10 to July 15, including on some court holidays, prosecutors said.
Morales fraudulently collected more than $15,000 in overtime pay as a result, prosecutors said.
She joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 2016.
The police department said in a statement that Morales was “relieved of duty and directed to a Board of Rights hearing with a recommendation for termination.”
“There is no place in this department for dishonesty,” Chief Michel Moore said in the statement. “We have taken every action to hold this officer accountable for their misconduct.”
The department said in launched an internal investigation into Morales’ “overtime usage” after her commanding officer reported “unusual activity.”
“I am deeply troubled by the alleged misappropriation of funds by a trusted law enforcement officer,” District Attorney George Gascón said in the release.
“This behavior undermines the trust we work tirelessly to build with our community,” Gascón said. “Law enforcement officers are held to a standard of unwavering integrity.”
Morales faces up to 36 months in jail if convicted.
