Major discipline · 2024[1]
TerminatedSuspended 154 days- Rank as reported
- Police Officer
- Sustained charge(s)
- 3:1.1 Standard of Good Conduct, 3:1.7 Obedience to Laws, 3:1.8 Witholding Info, 3:4.3 False Reports
- Separated while IA pending
- No
Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)
Officer John Lopez was terminated by the Guttenberg Police Department and received a 154-day suspension in 2024. On or about May 15, 2021, Lopez submitted a report requesting to be excused from shaving and included a doctor's note. He could not name the doctor or the office location, and an investigation overseen by the county prosecutor found that Lopez was not a patient at the listed office and that no doctor had signed the note. Charges including false reports and withholding information were sustained.
Synopsis as reported by the agency
On or about May 15, 2021, Lopez submitted an Internal Incident Report requesting to be excused from shaving due to skin irritation. Included with the report was a doctor's note. The name of the doctor and location of the office were handwritten on the prescription blank. When asked the name of the doctor and the location of the office, Lopez was unable to provide an answer. The prescription was then photocopied to prove its authenticity but the word “VOID” did not appear on the copied version. With the oversight of the County Prosecutor, an investigation ensued and it was revealed that Lopez was not a patient at the office written on the prescription blank and that a doctor did not sign it. Lopez was eventually terminated as a result of this investigation.