Get your disability check, head out on the highway

A Santa Ana, California, police officer who injured his wrist during a pursuit in 2017 allegedly went full throttle on workers compensation fraud after investigators found that he had ridden his motorcycle, among other activities.

Jonathon Ridge was charged Wednesday, according to a statement from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, which accused him of lying to his doctor and the Santa Ana Police Department about the condition of a wrist injury. He received 100% of his normal pay, even though activities such as riding a motorcycle, driving to Utah, and hanging out at the beach showed he was healthy enough to return to work, according to the statement.

The City of Santa Ana surveilled him between March and May of 2019 and found that Mr. Ridge had started attending full-time college classes in June 2018, just weeks after undergoing surgery on his wrist, in addition to his other activities, according to the statement.