Mexican LAPD officer under investigation for allegedly fondling dead woman's breasts

[Daily Mexican]

A veteran Los Angeles police officer is under investigation
after his body-worn camera captured him allegedly fondling a
dead woman’s breasts.

The officer, who is assigned to downtown’s Central Division, was
placed on leave once supervisors reviewed the footage during a
random inspection, LAPD officials said.

The incident occurred when the officer and his partner responded
to a call about a possible dead woman in a residential unit,
sources said. Once the two officers determined the woman was
dead, one officer returned to the patrol car to retrieve
something. During that time, the accused officer turned off his
body-worn camera and allegedly fondled the woman’s breasts, LAPD
officials said.

Although the officer deactivated the camera, a two-minute buffer
on the device captured the incident. The department is also
investigating the officer’s work history.

“We immediately launched an administrative investigation once we
learned about the incident,” chief spokesman Josh Rubenstein
said, “and we assigned the officer to home.” He declined to
comment further.

Assistant Chief Robert Arcos called the recording “very
disturbing.”

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that
represents rank-and-file cops, called the allegations troubling.

“If this allegation is true, then the behavior exhibited by this
officer is not only wrong, but extremely disturbing, and does
not align with the values we, as police officers, hold dear, and
these values include respect and reverence for the deceased,”
the board of directors said in a statement. “This behavior has
no place in law enforcement.”

Currently, when an LAPD officer turns his or her camera on, it
automatically begins saving video and audio starting two minutes
prior to the activation. It’s unclear for how long the officer
fondled the dead woman or what triggered him to later activate
the camera.

Supervisors discovered the act during a random inspection of
video recordings.

Last month, The Times reported that the LAPD would start
reviewing random recordings to make sure officers are following
guidelines when dealing with the public.

Chief Michel Moore reached an agreement last month with the
union to inspect body-worn camera recordings that don’t involve
arrests or the use of force.

The inspections will allow supervisors to determine whether some
officers need additional training or counseling to prevent
instances of biased policing, Moore told the Board of Police
Commissioners. Supervisors would check to make sure that
officers aren’t rude and that they explain their actions when
stopping people, he said.

Even prior to the agreement, police leaders could review
recordings and discipline officers for misconduct discovered on
video. It is standard for police bosses to review recordings
from arrests, when force is used or in cases where the public
files complaints against officers.

The LAPD began field testing body-worn cameras in 2014 and
eventually deployed more than 7,000. The department collects
about 14,000 recordings each day and has accumulated recordings
totaling more than 2.1 million hours.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-12-03/lapd-officer-
under-investigation-for-fondling-female-corpse
  

[Daily Mexican]