Officers focus of sex attack inquiry
The FBI and Inglewood Police Department are investigating two police officers in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a woman they stopped while on patrol, law enforcement officials confirmed Wednesday.
The alleged attack occurred in recent days at a hotel on Century Boulevard and was reported to authorities Monday.
The two officers, believed to be with the department a short time, were placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a criminal investigation.
Inglewood Police Capt. Eve Irvine said the department acted immediately after learning of the incident. She said the department would not release the names of the officers, their assignments or when they were hired.
“The Inglewood Police Department is investigating the matter and, per the protocol, we notified the district attorney’s Justice Integrity Division and are keeping them apprised of the situation,” she said.
The district attorney’s office declined to comment, other than to say it had been contacted by the department about the allegations.
Spokesmen for the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office said a preliminary investigation had been launched to determine if the woman’s civil rights were violated.
Sources familiar with the inquiry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the woman told authorities that she is a dancer who was staying at the hotel where the alleged attack took place.
She said the alleged assault occurred after the officers stopped her on Century while she was walking home from work.
When she told them she was staying at the hotel, the officers followed her there to validate her story, the sources said she told authorities, because stretches of the boulevard are infamous for prostitution.
When the trio arrived at the hotel, one officer stayed with the patrol car and the other walked to the hotel room to confirm that the woman was staying there, the sources said.
It was inside the room that the alleged assault occurred, they said.
greg.krikorian@latimes.com
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