The department says investigators also examined the officers’ other cases and referred both to California’s police certification commission.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two San Jose police officers accused of falsifying drug evidence are facing scrutiny on several fronts, with criminal charges pending, internal administrative investigations continuing and their police certification referred for possible state action.
Officers Raydarius Surry, 29, and Destiney Thompson, 30, were arrested Oct. 28 after the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office filed charges tied to an internal Police Department investigation. Each is accused of tampering with evidence and filing a false police report. Police said both officers have been on leave since September.
The department also referred Surry and Thompson to the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training for temporary decertification review while the criminal and administrative cases remain pending. The state commission oversees certification of California peace officers and can review alleged serious misconduct separately from a criminal prosecution.
The criminal investigation grew out of a missing bag of suspected narcotics connected to a May 3 arrest by Surry. Police said Surry listed the bag in his report, but investigators later found that it had not been booked into evidence. The department began investigating in August and told Surry the evidence was missing.
Police allege that Surry later stopped an unrelated pedestrian on Aug. 12, seized a similar bag of suspected narcotics and took no other enforcement action. He is accused of failing to document that encounter and then booking the newly seized bag under the case number from the May arrest, effectively presenting it as evidence from the earlier case.
Thompson, who police say was in a romantic relationship with Surry, allegedly accessed body-worn camera footage from the May arrest to help plan the replacement of the missing evidence. Authorities charged her with the same two offenses as Surry based on her alleged role in the effort.
Police Chief Paul Joseph said the accusations strike at officers’ duties to maintain evidence properly and provide truthful reports. He said falsifying evidence or police reports is criminal conduct and that the department acted to remove both officers from active duty while investigators pursued the case. Joseph said the allegations, if proven, would violate the standards expected of department members.
Surry, an eight-year department veteran, was placed on administrative leave Sept. 2. Thompson, who has served for six years, was placed on leave Sept. 18. Both officers are residents of Gilroy.
As part of the investigation, the Police Department said it conducted a broader review of both officers’ cases, arrests and evidence bookings. Officials said investigators did not find other discrepancies or similar alleged conduct during that review. That finding does not resolve the pending criminal allegations, which will be determined through the court process.
The case places the officers under separate systems of accountability. Prosecutors are pursuing the criminal charges, the Police Department is continuing its administrative process, and the state certification commission has been asked to consider the officers’ status. Neither officer has been found guilty of the charges, and the criminal and administrative matters remain unresolved.
Author note: Last updated October 30, 2026.