1 week Ago By City News Service
A criminal case was dismissed Monday against a now-former Los Angeles police officer who testified in 2021 that he had touched a dead woman’s breast while on duty as part of an investigation into her death.Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kevin Stennis noted that David Rojas “has complied with everything we’ve asked of him,” and that he had successfully completed an 18-month judicial diversion program.A prosecutor had objected in October 2023 to Rojas’ admission into a mental health diversion program, asking instead for time for the prosecution’s own expert to review records in the case.
Rojas, now 32, was placed on leave after the allegation surfaced in November 2019 and was arrested and charged the following month with a felony count of having sexual contact with human remains without authority.Rojas “separated from the department” effective last Oct. 1, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
At an October 2021 hearing in which he was ordered to stand trial, Rojas testified that he turned on his body-worn camera and used a flashlight to illuminate the 34-year-old woman’s body in the darkened bedroom and then touched the woman’s right breast twice with his gloved left hand after noticing a mark he couldn’t identify in that area.He said he was aware that he was being recorded through his own body-cam and denied being sexually aroused at the time or trying to humiliate or degrade the dead woman.Under questioning by his own attorney, the officer denied becoming sexually attracted to the woman when he saw her corpse.
“I go straight to the section where I see the marking,” the officer said under cross-examination, explaining that he squeezed or pinched the area to see if anything would gush out because he “had no idea what it was” and was trying to find anything “that will give me a possible lead in this death.”Rojas acknowledged under cross-examination from Deputy District Attorney Dan Akemon that he didn’t touch any other part of the dead woman’s body other than her breast after twice lifting up a sheet that had been placed over her body by paramedics who had pronounced the woman dead at the scene in downtown Los Angeles.Related ArticlesMacArthur Park residents say Los Angeles city safety measures aren’t enoughLAPD officers shoot man wielding item they thought resembled a rifle during standoffLAPD working to curb number of injuries to innocent motorists from pursuit crashesMayor Karen Bass says community programs helped reduce violence in Los AngelesFormer interim LAPD Chief Martin Pomeroy diesRojas said he did not include evidence about the marking in her breast area in his report, but considered the body-worn video camera footage to be part of his investigation into the woman’s death.
He testified that he was taught that officers should generally refrain from touching dead bodies, but didn’t believe that officers were barred from such activity.Los Angeles Police Detective Sergio Ortiz, who reviewed the footage from Rojas’ body-worn camera, testified at the October 2021 hearing that he noticed Rojas’ left hand touching the woman’s breast and nipple and said there was no need for the officer to physically examine her because she had already been declared dead. Ortiz said he believed the conduct was inappropriate and that any investigation of the body is a task that should be left to the medical examiner.
Just over two months after Rojas was found eligible for the diversion program, attorneys representing the dead woman’s family members filed court papers informing a judge of a “conditional” resolution of the part of the case involving the plaintiffs, the city and Rojas. No terms of the agreement were announced at the time, but the Los Angeles Times reported last May that family members were set to receive $250,000 to settle the lawsuit.r.
