LA will pay $250,000 for cop who fondled dead woman’s breast

The relatives of a woman whose body was allegedly abused by a police officer will receive $250,000 to drop their lawsuit against the city, the Los Angeles City Council decided Wednesday.

The settlement, approved by a 14-0 vote, comes five years after Los Angeles police accused Officer David Rojas of fondling the body of 34-year-old Elizabeth Baggett after she was found dead in her home.

After Rojas was arrested, Baggett’s family members sued the city, saying they felt “severe emotional distress” when they learned what happened. They accused the city of negligence, invasion of privacy and improper handling of human remains.

The incident occurred in 2019 when Rojas and another officer were checking Baggett’s apartment. Paramedics had covered her body with a sheet. While his partner left the room, Rojas lifted the sheet, exposed the dead woman’s torso and then squeezed her right breast twice, according to LAPD.

Rojas, whose actions were recorded on his own body camera, was later charged with sexual contact with human remains. He pleaded not guilty. At his preliminary hearing in 2021, he said he knew he was being recorded on the body camera and only touched the woman for investigative purposes and not for sexual arousal.

During his testimony, Rojas said he touched her breast twice after noticing a mark he couldn’t identify. He said he squeezed the area to determine whether the wound was a wound – a statement that a judge in the case called “extremely unconvincing.”

Last year, a different judge ordered Rojas to complete an 18-month mental health diversion program, according to court records. Rojas has been relieved of duty but remains with the police force in an unpaid role while he awaits a disciplinary hearing, LAPD spokeswoman Kelly Muniz said.

Lawyers for the Baggett family did not immediately comment on Wednesday’s settlement vote. In 2020, Janet Baggett, Elizabeth’s mother, said she was “angry that this man had so little respect for another human being.”

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents rank-and-file officers, did not defend Rojas in his criminal case and called his actions “despicable.” In 2021, the union said it hoped the criminal charges would “provide some comfort to the family of the deceased woman during their period of mourning.”