False Statement Charge Dropped Against Suffolk Cop: Report

PORT JEFFERSON STATION, NY — The criminal indictment lodged against a Suffolk police officer charged with filing a false statement after the arrest of a man accused of car theft and resisiting arrest has been dismissed, according to a court order reviewed by Newsday.

The evidence submitted to a grand jury in the case against Police Officer Matthew Cameron was "not legally sufficient" to support the charge, Judge Tim Mazzei wrote, the outlet reported.

"The court has examined the minutes of the grand jury presentation in camera and it is the determination of the court that the evidence presented in this proceeding was not legally sufficient to support the charge contained in the indictment," Mazzei wrote, according to Newsday.

Cameron, a 33-year-old officer from Commack who had been on the force since 2014, was charged in December with second-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a misdemeanor, for making a false statement in connection with Cruz's arrest, the office of former District Attorney Tim Sini said at the time.

Christopher Cruz, 30, of Long Beach is accused of stealing a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee from a Port Jefferson Station home on Feb. 23, 2021, and ramming it into a police officer, injuring him before driving off, said police at the time, adding that a chase ensued, and Cruz lost control of the Jeep, crashing it into a snowbank in Mount Sinai.

Cruz is accused of ramming the Jeep into a second police car before hitting another snowbank before coming to a stop just after midnight on Feb. 24, and an officer was injured as he was being taken into custody, police said.

He was seen in police body camera footage being pushed and kicked while in custody and has filed a federal lawsuit seeking $10 million in damages, according to Newsday.

To read more about the dissmissal of the charges against Cameron in Newsday, click here.