San Jose cops arrested after allegedly swapping drug evidence bags

San Jose police officers Raydarius Surry and Destiney Thompson were arrested on Wednesday and booked into Santa Clara County Jail. The couple, who are romantically involved, face charges of tampering with evidence and filing a false police report.

The incident began when a bag of suspected narcotics documented by Surry in an arrest report failed to reach the department's evidence storage. Investigators say the original stash disappeared before it could be logged. Surry later claimed to have found a replacement during an unrelated pedestrian stop. He allegedly took a similar bag of suspected drugs from that stop and dropped the new case from his records.

Surry then submitted the replacement bag as the evidence from the initial arrest. This action allegedly swapped one bag for another to hide the original disappearance. Thompson, a fellow officer, allegedly assisted in the cover-up by accessing the body-camera footage from the first arrest, according to KTVU.

San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph stated that the department removed both officers from duty quickly. Joseph said, “Falsifying evidence or police reports is a crime, and our Department moved swiftly to remove both officers from duty and pursue criminal accountability.” He added that the allegations represent a failure to meet community standards if proven true.

The investigation into the missing evidence started in August. Both officers have been on paid leave since September. Surry has served on the force for eight years. Thompson has been a San Jose officer for six years. Both officers reside in Gilroy.

Each officer now faces one count of tampering with evidence and one count of filing a false police report. The allegations have not yet been proven in court.