The Manhattan district attorney announced the indictment Tuesday, in New York State Supreme Court, of New York City Police Officer Jonathan Munoz, accused of unlawfully arresting a man who attempted to videotape him after he illegally searched a woman last spring.

Munoz is also charged with falsifying documents with the NYPD and the district attorney’s office. “Had this officer’s attempts to conceal his alleged misconduct succeeded, an innocent man may still be facing charges for a fabricated crime,” DA Cyrus Vance said in a statement.

“Illegal searches and unlawful arrests go against the years of training each NYPD officer receives, erode the public’s confidence in law enforcement, and will be prosecuted by my Office’s Public Corruption Unit.”

The charges stem from Munoz’s arrest near the corner of West 183rd Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue of Jason Disisto in March of last year. From Jezebel, in April:

Disisto and some friends were hanging out in front of a restaurant in Washington Heights when an NYPD officer named Jonathan Munoz came up to one of Disisto’s female friends and started to frisk and paw her. Munoz stuck his hand in the woman’s sweater and took her by the wrist.

Disisto then grabbed his friend’s cell phone to record the incident. Another officer, Edwin Flores, charged at Disitso to prevent from filming. Video footage shows Munoz and Flores attempting to wrestle the phone of Disisto’s hand and then cuffing him. The two officers arrested Disisto and put him in a police car, throwing the cellphone out of the car window.

In his incident report, Munoz, a member of the NYPD since 2006, claimed that Disisto entered a “fighting stance,” lunged, and swung a fist at him. Surveillance footage showed this to be untrue. The case against Disisto, who has since sued the NYPD, was dismissed.

Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.