On the eighth floor of the Hall of Justice, where LASD executives are supposed to police the department with integrity and justice has exposed a disturbing portrait of corruption, abuse of authority, and a system willing to destroy its own to protect the people in power.
On September 19, 2018, two dedicated deputies from the East Los Angeles station, Woodrow Woo-Kyung Kim and Jonathan Miramontes, were working in a two-man unit in the unincorporated area of East Los Angeles. Years later, they had their lives upended by a politically motivated witch hunt that culminated in a sham trial based on fabricated evidence and outright lies under oath. Despite being acquitted by a jury in less than a day of deliberations in November 2025, the damage was done, careers stalled, reputations smeared, and families shattered, all because Internal Affairs investigators Amber Mullings and Calvin Mah allegedly perjured themselves to push a false narrative.
This case stems from a high-stakes pursuit on September 19, 2018, when Deputies Kim and Miramontes responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call involving suspects in a black BMW who had threatened a motorist with a gun. The chase ended in Ruben Salazar Park, where a passenger, Hector Mario Martinez, a known gang member, fled on foot. Surveillance video captured the moment Kim’s patrol car door made contact with Martinez, knocking him down, a split-second event in a chaotic scene filled with children and families nearby, not to mention a shootout that left two suspects dead and three law enforcement personnel injured. Two deputies were shot as a result of the deputy-involved shooting.
The deputies’ supplemental reports detailed the incident, but prosecutors under George Gascón, a district attorney infamous for his anti-law enforcement agenda, claimed they omitted key details to cover up an “assault.” Kim was charged with assault under color of authority and filing a false report; Miramontes with the latter. The case was dismissed in 2022 for insufficient evidence, only to be reinstated by an appeals court in 2024. But the real scandal isn’t the charges, it’s the perjury that fueled the prosecution.
Enter Lt. Amber Mullings, then a sergeant with Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB), and her partner, Sgt. Calvin Mah. Mah did not testify in the trial he was promoted to captain of the Major Crimes Bureau. During the trial, Mullings testified under oath that she reviewed the deputies’ supplemental reports around noon on September 21, 2018, in a meeting with other sergeants at the East L.A. station. She claimed this review revealed inconsistencies that pointed to a cover-up. Lt. Mullings told the jury that she believed at that very moment the two deputies had lied in their reports. But here’s the smoking gun: the report in question from Deputy Miramontes, which was labeled as People’s Exhibit 2, wasn’t approved and signed off until 4:48 p.m. that day, a full four hours and 48 minutes later. How could Mullings have reviewed a “final” version that didn’t exist yet? This isn’t a minor slip; it’s a blatant lie, sworn before a jury, that undermines the entire case.
Defense attorney Tom Yu, representing Miramontes, hammered this point during cross-examination: “You’re telling this jury on your sworn testimony that you read this supp. at about noon hours when it was signed off at 4:48 p.m.? That’s your sworn testimony to this jury?” Mullings doubled down, insisting she wasn’t mistaken. Yet, the timestamp on the report, dated 09/20/18 and approved at 16:48, tells a different story. This perjury wasn’t isolated; it was part of a pattern to railroad two innocent deputies.
Then there’s Calvin Mah, now a captain at the Major Crimes Bureau. Mullings testified that Mah took photographs of Martinez’s injuries, critical evidence in a use-of-force case, shortly after the incident. But those pictures? Mysteriously “lost.” When pressed by internal investigators later, Mullings admitted she couldn’t find them and made no formal report about the loss. She didn’t notify her chain of command or document the disappearance of evidence that could have exonerated the deputies by showing the injuries were consistent with an accidental collision, not intentional assault. In a department that prides itself on transparency, losing key photos without consequence reeks of a cover-up within the cover-up investigation.
These lies didn’t just taint the trial; they devastated lives. Deputies Kim and Miramontes were relieved of duty, stripped of their peace officer powers, and dragged through years of legal hell. Their families endured financial strain, emotional turmoil, and public humiliation, all while Mullings and Mah climbed the ranks. Kim, a veteran deputy, and Miramontes, his partner, were painted as rogue cops in a narrative pushed by progressive prosecutors and internal investigators eager to score points in the post-George Floyd era. Even though the jury saw through the charade and acquitted them swiftly, the process was the punishment. Careers derailed, trust eroded, and the badge they wore with pride forever tarnished.
Worse still, under Sheriff Robert Luna, whose administration has been criticized for prioritizing politics over policing, Mullings has been reinstated to Internal Affairs Bureau as a lieutenant, where she continues investigating her fellow deputies. Mah, meanwhile, now oversees major crimes investigations. So while Kim and Miramontes were dragged through years of professional and personal ruin, the people accused of lying under oath and mishandling evidence quietly climbed the ladder. If that doesn’t make your stomach turn, it should. This isn’t justice. It’s a betrayal of the thin blue line.
That’s exactly why attorney Tom Yu isn’t taking this one lying down. Yu has already watched this political machine in action. He’s been fighting for former Deputy Trevor Kirk, who was wrongfully charged with civil rights abuse and turned into a convenient sacrificial lamb when Luna started taking heat from activists. Kirk used the lowest level of force to detain a robbery suspect, in accordance with department protocol, yet the optics demanded blood, and the department was more than willing to offer up a deputy’s career to satisfy the mob.
Now Yu is preparing to escalate this fight beyond Los Angeles County entirely. Sources confirm he’s drafting a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice seeking a criminal investigation into Mullings and Mah for perjury. “This was a hit-job investigation after the regime change,” Yu told The Current Report in correspondence, emphasizing that the false testimony about the report review and the mysteriously missing injury photographs weren’t side issues. They were the backbone of the prosecution. His complaint is designed to expose corruption and force real accountability under federal law.
A full, independent investigation into Mullings perjury should be mandatory. Sheriff Luna must relieve them of duty pending review, no more promotions for those who twist the truth to destroy good deputies. The East L.A. station, already plagued by scandals, can’t afford more internal rot. Deputies Kim and Miramontes deserve vindication, not just an acquittal, but a public apology and reinstatement. Allowing Mullings to continue unchecked sends a chilling message: lie under oath, climb the ladder, and ruin lives without consequence.
In a county overrun by crime, we need law enforcement we can trust, not a system where investigators become the real criminals. The question is whether Luna will confront this head-on, or allow it to become just another cover-up in a long line of failures.
The truth demands action, and the badge demands better.
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