A Costa Mesa Police officer was scheduled to be arraigned Friday on felony charges for allegedly falsely reporting he suffered a hand injury while escorting a suspect from a patrol vehicle to jail.
Ryan Patrick Natividad, 30, of Corona faces up to six years behind bars if convicted of one count each of insurance fraud and making a fraudulent statement, according to Roxi Fyad of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Natividad is accused of reporting a work-related injury to his employer last Sept. 23. The officer reported that earlier in the day, he struck his fist against a wall while attempting to prevent the arrestee from stumbling into a wall, Fyad said.
“The city of Costa Mesa internally investigated Natividad’s workers’ compensation claim and uncovered evidence contradicting Natividad’s account of how and when the injury occurred,” Fyad said.