Cop's Bodycam Was Reviewed at Random. Now, an Arrest

LAPD officer David Rojas is accused of fondling a corpse
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 13, 2019 6:50 AM CST
Cop Was Accused of Fondling a Corpse. Now, an Arrest
Stock photo of an LAPD patrol car.   (Getty Images)

An "extremely disturbing" allegation against an LAPD officer has now led to an arrest. Per the Los Angeles Times and CBS Los Angeles, David Rojas, 27, was taken into custody Thursday and charged with one felony count of having sexual contact with human remains without authority. The move comes nearly two months after an incident at a residential unit in which Rojas was recorded on his own bodycam allegedly fondling a corpse's breasts. Sources say Rojas and his male partner had responded to a call of a possible dead woman on Oct. 20; when the partner briefly left the scene to get something out of the patrol car, Rojas was said to have turned his camera off and "inappropriately touched the woman's body," per LAPD officials.

However, even though the bodycam was turned off, it has a two-minute buffer and captured what happened. LAPD cameras, which have to be turned in at the end of each shift, are randomly checked; CBS notes Rojas' camera was picked by chance out of thousands. "This incident ... does not represent the values of the Los Angeles Police Department," Chief Michel Moore says. Rojas, who serves in the city's Central Division, could face up to three years in prison if convicted. His bail has been set at $20,000. (More LAPD stories.)

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