2 San José Cops Arrested for Drug Evidence Tampering, False Reports
Two San José police officers were arrested by their own department and charged with felonies for an alleged ploy to cover up the mishandling of drug evidence, authorities said Thursday.
Officers Raydarius Surry and Destiney Thompson were booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on Wednesday night after being charged with tampering with evidence and filing false police reports, according to a statement from the San José Police Department.
Police said Surry, who has been with the department for eight years, never booked into evidence a “very small baggie containing a small amount of suspected narcotics, which was listed in his police report” following an arrest he made on May 3.
In August, police began an internal investigation into Surry’s actions and notified him about the missing evidence, which was set to be tested by the county crime lab.
After he was notified, Surry stopped a person on the street on Aug. 12, and found them “in possession of a similar baggie of suspected narcotics,” police said.
He seized the bag, but took no other enforcement action. Surrey allegedly then booked the bag into evidence under the case number for the May arrest without ever documenting the August stop or seizure of evidence, police said.
The two cops are in a relationship, and police alleged that Thompson, 30, who has been with the department for six years, helped Surry, 29, plan the cover-up.
Thompson “accessed and viewed body-worn camera footage of the May 3rd, 2026, arrest to assist [Surry] in planning the replacement of the missing evidence,” police said.
“Officers are required to maintain the chain of custody without exception and to be completely truthful in their accounts of interactions with the public,” San José Police Chief Paul Joseph said in a statement.
Both officers surrendered late Wednesday evening and were no longer in custody as of Thursday afternoon.
They were placed on leave last month while investigations took place, and the Police Department has since referred the case to the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training “for temporary decertification review while the criminal and administrative investigations are pending,” police said.
“Falsifying evidence or police reports is a crime, and our department moved swiftly to remove both officers from duty and pursue criminal accountability. These allegations, if proven to be true, constitute a failure to live up to the standards our community has a right to expect,” Joseph said. “I will not tolerate any department member violating the sacred trust placed in us.”
The Police Department said that as part of the investigation, “a thorough review of both officers’ cases, arrests and evidence bookings” was completed. “The department did not discover any other discrepancies or similar actions by the two officers.”
Surry was also arrested by SJPD in July 2022 for misdemeanor driving under the influence, when police said he and another driver collided near East San Fernando and South Fourth streets.
Officers who responded to the crash said Surry, who was off-duty at the time, showed “symptoms of alcohol influence,” and he was booked into county jail, along with the other driver, who was also arrested on suspicion of DUI.
Then-Chief of Police Anthony Mata said in a statement at the time, “I have no tolerance for behavior that does not align with the values of the San José Police Department, I will do everything in my authority to hold employees accountable when there is a violation of department policy or of the law.”