CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES

By Jack Leonard

Oct. 10, 2009 12 AM PT

Three current and former Los Angeles Police Department officers accused of lying in court during a drug possession case pleaded not guilty to perjury and conspiracy charges.

The charges rely heavily on video footage that appears to sharply contradict the testimony the officers gave about their arrest of Guillermo Alarcon at his East Hollywood apartment complex.

But lawyers for the officers said the video was edited and omits key portions of the arrest that would have shown that their clients told the truth in court.

“We intend to prove that it was either deleted or purposely altered,” defense attorney Robert Rico said after Thursday’s court hearing.

-- Jack Leonard

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California

Jack Leonard

As senior editor of investigations, Jack Leonard oversaw the work of a team of investigative reporters. As a reporter, he was part of the team that exposed fraud and abuse in California’s conservatorship system, a series that won several national awards. He went on to investigate how early releases from L.A.’s jail system perverts justice and fosters more crime on the street. Later, he worked on a sweeping expose of abuse and corruption in the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES

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