HICKORY, N.C. -- A former Statesville police officer is accused of crashing his patrol car in hickory and then filing a false police report.

• Police in Hickory are looking for a former officer.
• They say Christopher Rivera crashed his patrol car and filed a false police report.
• He said someone hit him in the face and stole the car. 

Hickory police say they are looking for Christopher Rivera to serve an arrest warrant in connection with the incident, which happened on New Year’s Day.

Court documents show that Rivera told police he was out celebrating at an apartment complex while off duty when he went outside to his unmarked patrol car.

He said someone hit him in the face and stole the car. Later that day, the Highway Patrol found the squad car, which had gone down an embankment and hit a tree off River Road in Hickory.

Investigators say boot prints in the mud around the car matched boots Rivera was wearing in his interview with officers.

Other evidence collected at the crash scene also indicated that Rivera had filed a false report.

The Statesville Police Department says Rivera retired from the department in February.

They have launched an administrative investigation into the incident.