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Published on 04/15/1996 All articles from this issue

Los Altos officer charged with sexual battery in trouble before, chief confirms

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

A Los Altos police officer, currently undergoing an internal affairs investigation as well as facing criminal charges for groping one female prisoner and using unlawful force on two other women, has had his on-duty behavior questioned before.

Los Altos Police Chief Lucy Carlton confirmed Friday that citizen complaints in 1992 against officer Rafael Rosario prompted an internal affairs investigation four years ago.

According to Los Altos resident Kurt Hammerstrom, Rosario allegedly "stun-gunned" his 18-year-old son, a bystander during a traffic stop that Rosario made in December 1992.

City attorney Bob Booth said Hammerstrom's son "interjected himself into a situation between officer Rosario and a private citizen."

Hammerstrom's son was arrested.

Witnesses filed complaints against Rosario for excessive force.

"Like any other IA (internal affairs) complaint it was thoroughly investigated," Carlton said. Because it was a personnel matter she would not release the results of the investigation.

"This has no relationship to the current investigation," Carlton said.

City attorney Bob Booth said his recollection was that Rosario was exonerated. "If he was disciplined, it was very minor. If he was (disciplinarian), it would not speak well for Rosario. Now he's in major trouble."

On March 22, the day before his 30th birthday, Rosario was arrested and pled not guilty to four counts: felony sexual battery, misdemeanor sexual battery and two counts of misdemeanor battery. These charges resulted from complaints by three different women regarding incidents which occurred in Los Altos from Nov. 2, 1995, to Feb. 20, 1996.

Rosario said just returned to work with the Los Altos police force in November 1995, after three years on a county-wide undercover task force.

"It's rare that we pull (someone) out from undercover, but we were down two staff," Carlton said.

The most serious charge, the felony sexual battery, resulted from a Nov. 23, 1995, incident when Rosario stopped a woman on El Camino Real for drunk driving. Her blood alcohol was .18. According to court documents, when Rosario searched her in a hallway, he stood behind her and touched her in inappropriate places. During a second search, in the police garage, he allegedly groped the woman again.

Steven Yep, Rosario's attorney, said "at .18 I'd be falling down drunk or passed out." Yep was a police officer with the Los Gatos Police Department for 12 years before becoming an attorney. In an incident with another woman, Rosario pulled her over for not having a light on her license plate at 4:30 on a January morning. She got out of her car and they talked. When she was chilled and reached for her jacket Rosario gave her "a bear hug from behind" and "slid his hands under her arms and wrapped them up and under her chest," according to court documents. A third woman reported he came to her home at night "at least 10 times" beginning Nov. 2, 1995. He would shine his light on her windows, and, "He was starting to scare me," court documents stated.

Rosario was put on paid administrative leave Feb. 23, 1996, when the department was notified by the district attorney of the investigation into complaints against Rosario.

Booth said, "We want to root out improper conduct. The whole (police) department's reputation is at stake. It's a fine group of officers. Our complaints are less than 1 percent based upon the number of contacts officers have with the public."

The current internal affairs investigation, which is separate from the District Attorney's investigation, should be complete by Friday, Carlton said.

According to the peace officers' bill of rights, when investigating allegations of an officer's misconduct, the officer is ready to come to work at any moment.

"Raphael calls in to his voice mail every day. You have to believe they're innocent until proven guilty," Carlton said.

Rosario returns to court May 15 for a preliminary examination of the evidence against him in the criminal proceedings. After a court hearing last Thursday, Yep said he expects the case to go to trial.