A WOMAN IN the US state of Arizona is planning a lawsuit after a police officer entered her home when she emerged from the shower, before arresting her while she was naked.
Esmerelda Rossi, from the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, says she felt “helpless and violated” during the episode, which was filmed by her teenage daughter and posted online.
On the evening of 25 March, Rossi was having a shower when two police officers called at her home to inquire about a domestic dispute earlier that day.
She went to the door in her towel, and asked the police, whom she described as “aggressive”, to wait there while she got her mobile phone.
According to a statement from her lawyer, Marc Victor, Officer Doug Rose then illegally entered the house, followed Rossi into her kitchen, “and proceeded to intimidate, bully and threaten” her.
Rossi attempted to film the encounter on her phone, as did her daughter, whose footage emerged earlier this week.
It’s not clear exactly what happened in the moments leading up to the video, but Rose can be heard threatening to detain Rossi, who resists and moves away from him.
In his account, provided to an internal police investigation, Rose presented Rossi as uncooperative and antagonistic, saying she “dared him to arrest her.”
The footage shows Rose saying “Do you want to go to jail tonight?” and approaching Rossi, before grabbing her by her wrist as she pleads “I didn’t do anything,” and “Don’t touch me.”
Her 15-year-old daughter, who is filming on her phone, can be heard crying throughout the incident.
Warning: This video may be upsetting to some viewers.
Although Rossi is visibly holding just a towel around herself, the officer notes: “You have absolutely no clothes on?”, before proceeding to put her in handcuffs, causing her to become naked.
Rossi’s lawyer alleges Rose then forced her to remain naked while he “lectured” her for 10 minutes.
This is corroborated by the officer who investigated a complaint against Rose, after watching the footage recorded by Rose’s partner David Selvidge:
While speaking with her, Officer Rose demands that Esmerelda looks him in the eyes. Esmerelda is clearly upset and trembling from the arrest.
Rossi’s daughter was eventually given the key to free her from the handcuffs, and Rossi was never charged with any crime.
The internal police investigation cleared the second officer, Selvidge, but concluded that Officer Rose had illegally entered the house, not having a warrant or any probable cause.
Furthermore, it found that he had breached regulations by failing to mention crucial components of the encounter in his incident report.
However, Rose retired from the Chandler police department in May, before any internal sanction could be brought against him.
Now, Rossi’s lawyer says a lawsuit against the city of Chandler is pending.
Speaking to local TV station ABC 15, Rossi said:
I felt helpless. I felt violated. And honestly, I felt molested.
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