Two LA County Sheriff’s Deputies Charged With Perjury, Filing False Reports

Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies pleaded not guilty today to felony charges that they filed false reports and committed perjury relating to traffic stops made in 2016, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Michael Berk (dob 8/31/61) was charged in case BA482714 with four counts each of filing a false report and perjury. Justin Fisk (dob 12/28/78) was charged in case BA482715 with two counts each of filing a false report and perjury. Both defendants pleaded not guilty today to the charges and are scheduled to return for a preliminary hearing setting on Feb. 7, 2020, in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Deputy District Attorney Kelly Howick of the Justice System Integrity Division is prosecuting the case. Between September and November 2016, Berk and Fisk, who worked at the sheriff’s Santa Clarita Valley station, stopped motorists for speeding violations. The drivers happened to be other law enforcement officers. Instead of issuing speeding tickets to the drivers, both defendants allegedly issued citations for not having proof of insurance, even though the drivers had valid insurance at the time. The alleged misconduct came to light after a Los Angeles deputy police chief told a sheriff’s captain that the two defendants possibly had issued falsified traffic tickets, according to the complaint. Bail was set at $25,000 for each defendant. If convicted as charged, Berk faces a possible maximum sentence of five years in state prison, while Fisk faces up to three years and eight months in prison. The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau.