The City Attorney’s Office is seeking to prevent lawyers representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit involving a Los Angeles police officer from using terms such as “sexual assault” or urging the jury to send a message to the city in their civil case verdict. The officer, David Rojas, admitted to touching a dead woman’s breast while on duty and is facing criminal charges.
In a separate criminal case, Officer Rojas could face up to three years in state prison if convicted of having unauthorized sexual contact with human remains. The lawsuit was filed by the mother, 18-year-old grandson, and teen’s father, alleging mishandling of human remains, invasion of privacy, emotional distress, negligence, intrusion into public affairs, and violation of statutory duties.
The trial is scheduled for August 21, and both sides have filed pretrial motions. The City Attorney’s Office argues that using “inflammatory language” like “sexual assault” or “sexual misconduct” would confuse and mislead the jury. They also seek to prohibit the plaintiffs from using the “reptile theory,” which aims to punish and deter defendants.
The City Attorney’s Office states that calling on the jury to send a message to the city is improper in a liability case, and using the reptile theory appeals to jurors’ concerns about safety rather than focusing on the evidence. The pretrial motions will be heard on August 10.
During his preliminary hearing in October 2021, Rojas testified that he touched the woman’s breast twice with his gloved left hand while using a flashlight to examine her body. He denied being sexually aroused or attempting to humiliate the deceased. In his deposition for the civil case, Rojas stated that he believed he could touch a deceased body for information gathering purposes based on his training.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys argue that Rojas’s actions were for the purpose of gathering information and evidence for his police report. The trial will proceed with the hearing on the scheduled date.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
