The Chandler City Council appears set to approve a six-figure settlement in a police misconduct case involving an officer who illegally entered the home of a woman and arrested her while she was naked.
The settlement amount is $125,000, according to the City Council’s Thursday night agenda.
Esmeralda Rossi was handcuffed naked in front of her teenage daughter last March by Chandler Police Officer Doug Rose.
A police internal investigation later determined Rose entered her home illegally.
The misconduct case was first profiled by ABC15 last July. Cell phone video captured the entire incident, causing the story to go viral as people expressed outrage over Officer Rose’s actions.
Rose retired in the middle of his department’s internal investigation.
Rose and another officer arrived at Rossi’s home after receiving a call about an argument between her and her estranged husband.
“I was in the shower,” Rossi told ABC15 in an interview last year. “My daughter came to the shower and said there are two officers at the door. So I just grabbed a towel."
When she answered the door, Rossi said Rose became very aggressive and she told him to wait at the door so she could go get a cell phone.
“It made me very uncomfortable,” Rossi said. “So I closed the door. I turn to go into my living room, and I probably get about five steps in; and all of a sudden, I just hear boots running in after me, telling me stop or I’ll arrest you.”
At that point, both Rossi and her daughter begin recording. That’s when things turned south.
The cell phone video was influential evidence in the internal investigation. Unedited copies were provided to ABC15 by Rossi and her attorney.
Rossi was never charged with a crime, records show.
After reviewing the incident, Chandler Police internal investigators determined Rose entered the home illegally and without probable cause. The investigation also determined that Rose didn’t document arresting or un-arresting the woman or the fact that she was naked.
There was also no video from his body camera for the call, records show.
After the incident, the other officer involved immediately contacted his supervisor to raise questions about Rose’s actions. The second officer was cleared of wrongdoing.
