Two Oakland police officers were indicted last month for allegedly conspiring with a federal aviation official to fraudulently obtain pilot certifications.
Brandon Mart and David Mac, both Oakland Police Department Air Support Unit helicopter pilots, allegedly conspired with a Federal Aviation Administration inspector to obtain the certifications between July 2023 and March 2024, according to a federal grand jury indictment filed on Aug. 27.
The FAA official, William Miller, was an aviation safety inspector in charge of performing “checkrides,” flights in which people seeking pilot certifications are tested for mastery of an aircraft by completing flight maneuvers like takeoffs, landings and emergency operations.
Checkrides also consist of an oral test, during which a person must demonstrate knowledge of aviation regulations, aircraft systems and weather, among other things.
“The conspiracy involved the submission of fraudulent documents related to at least four separate checkrides, and resulting in Mart receiving three fraudulent certifications and Mac receiving one fraudulent certificate,” according to the indictment.
All three men are charged with conspiracy to defraud the FAA and FAA registration fraud, which carry a combined maximum of eight years in prison.
Mart is also charged with obstruction of justice by falsifying records, which carries a 20-year maximum penalty.
The trio of defendants entered not guilty pleas during an arraignment Thursday in front of Judge Peter Kang of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland.
Bail was set for each at $25,000 and none of the defendants are currently in custody, according to court records.
Attorneys for the three men didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
OPD Chief James Beere said the department found out about the indictment on Thursday and the officers have been placed on administrative leave.
“We take these allegations seriously and are cooperating with outside law enforcement agencies as they conduct their investigation,” Beere said in a video statement posted online.
“When I became chief of police, I made it clear that anyone who commits a crime in our city will be held accountable, including members of the Oakland Police Department, who are entrusted with a level of authority and responsibility that few others are given,” Beere said. “When an officer violates that trust, it not only undermines the integrity of that individual, but it also erodes the confidence our community has in the entire profession.”
Evan Mateer, the federal prosecutor in the case, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The indictment comes at a particularly bad time for OPD, which has been under federal oversight for 23 years following the “Oakland Riders” scandal, during which police officers routinely falsified police reports, planted evidence, beat suspects and abused people’s civil rights.
However, in May, OPD seemed closer than ever to shedding federal oversight, having finally reached compliance with dozens of court-ordered reforms, according to a report filed by the department’s federal monitor.
A judge could make a decision on the federal oversight matter at a hearing scheduled for Sept. 29.