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LAPD Officer Arrested After Bodycam Footage Allegedly Shows Him Fondling Deceased Woman's Breasts

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A Los Angeles police officer was arrested Thursday after footage captured by a body-worn camera allegedly showed him fondling a deceased woman's breasts.

On Thursday morning, investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department's Internal Affairs Division arrested 27-year-old David Rojas, a 4-year veteran of the department.

Rojas was charged with one felony count of having sexual contact with human remains without authority, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced.

The allegation against Rojas was brought to the department during the course of an investigation into the fatal overdose of a woman on November 11.

On October 20, Rojas and his partner, both male, responded to the call, at which point the alleged incident occurred.

The officers reportedly confirmed the unidentified woman was dead and one officer left to retrieve paperwork from a patrol car, while the Rojas stayed with the deceased inside a room.

It was at that point that Rojas was said to have turned off his bodycam and then "inappropriately touched the woman's body," LAPD officials confirmed.

According to sources, the video showed him fondling the dead woman's breasts. Sources confirmed that even after he deactivated his camera, a two-minute buffer on the device captured the incident.

Rojas turned in the body-worn camera at the end of his shift, as per protocol, where it was stored with thousands of others.

The officer in charge of looking over video from the cameras was said to have picked one of the shelves at random.

Los Angeles Police Department officials originally placed Rojas, who is assigned to downtown's Central Division, on leave after the footage was seen during a random inspection.

Police Chief Michel Moore and the union recently implemented a protocol in which the LAPD could randomly check video footage from body-worn cameras.

Moore said, "This incident is extremely disturbing and does not represent the values of the Los Angeles Police Department."

His bail was set at $20,000. If convicted as charged, Rojas faces a possible maximum sentence of three years in state prison.

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