EL CAJON (KUSI) – A former La Mesa police officer at the center of a controversial arrest near the Grossmont trolley station last spring pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a felony charge of filing a false report. Matthew Dages is charged in connection with the May 27 arrest of 23- year-old Amaurie Johnson, which was captured on video and circulated over social media, sparking particular condemnation in the wake of the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Dages is accused of “falsifying the reason for Johnson’s detention as well as his actions” and faces up to three years in state prison if convicted, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.