A Los Angeles police officer was hoping to cop a feel on the body of a woman who had died, so he turned off his body camera and began fondling the dead woman’s breasts.
But the camera has a two-minute buffer that continues recording once it has been turned off.
The LAPD cop was placed on leave once his superiors reviewed the footage meaning he is probably still getting paid for sitting at home.
Both police brass and the police union are calling his actions “disturbing,” indicating he may not receive the usual Blue Privilege.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
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.”
The cop’s name has been released but the L.A. Times reports he is a 20-year veteran officer working out of the city’s Central Division which is in downtown. The LAPD issued body cameras to officers beginning in 2015.
