Seattle Cop Fired for Drunken DV Assault at Officer's Farewell Party
Lopez-Ojeda says she 'blacked out' and 'things got out of hand'
The Seattle Police Department terminated rookie officer Rosa Lopez-Ojeda in December for assaulting her romantic partner at a party in front of multiple coworkers, according to a report released by the Office of Police Accountability last Friday.
The assault occurred in August 2020 in Arlington at a going-away party for Ofc. Allie Mustain hosted by Ofc. Devon Benner. Mustain, Benner, and another officer all witnessed at least part of the attack, according to police documents obtained by DivestSPD.
Witnesses say Lopez-Ojeda was “extremely intoxicated” that evening and was contemplating leaving SPD to return to retail work. The OPA report describes a “heated verbal argument” between Lopez-Ojeda and the victim, who is also an SPD officer.
At one point in the evening, Lopez-Ojeda wandered off outside. The victim and Mustain went to look for her and found her lying in the bushes. According to the report, she suddenly became “aggressive, as if in a behavioral crisis state,” and charged the victim, pushed her to the ground, straddled her, and struck her multiple times with a closed fist. Lopez-Ojeda ran off, and when the victim found her, Lopez-Ojeda assaulted her a second time.
Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputies arrived and arrested Lopez-Ojeda for domestic violence assault in the fourth degree. The victim was uncooperative but had “visible swelling” on her face. The victim said she didn’t remember if Lopez-Ojeda struck her with a closed fist. The two remain in a relationship.
In her OPA interview, Lopez-Ojeda claimed she didn’t recall what happened that evening. She told investigators that she “drank way too much…was blacked out… and things got out of hand.”
Though prosecutors had multiple eyewitnesses and ample forensic evidence, Snohomish County ultimately dismissed criminal charges against Lopez-Ojeda. OPA pointed out that it is not “governed by the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt” standard applied in a criminal context.’” However, the city’s contract with the police union requires an elevated standard of proof for so-called stigmatizing offenses.
OPA found that the evidence was “more than sufficient” to show that Lopez-Ojeda violated policy by assaulting her romantic partner and recommended termination. Hired in 2019, Lopez-Ojeda spent almost the entirety of her career on leave for the assault.
This isn’t the only time in recent history that violence erupted at a party hosted by a Seattle police officer. Two years before Lopez-Ojeda’s assault, Ofc. Caleb Howard was charged with assault for choking his coworker’s teen son in a backyard wrestling match at an SPD party. Howard received a 30-day suspension and a dispositional continuance, meaning the charges would be dropped if he stayed out of trouble for two years. He remains employed at the department.
Another SPD officer is currently on leave while under investigation for stalking his ex-girlfriend. Weeks ago, SPD suspended an officer for threatening violence against his former girlfriend.