A Bay Area police officer has been charged with masturbating in front of a family that called police during a fraught domestic violence call.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has charged Matthew Dominguez, 32, with a misdemeanor indecent exposure after responding to a restraining order call on the evening of April 21.
An unidentified individual whose family put a domestic violence restraining order against him had allegedly violated the order and was at the family’s home, according to a statement of facts provided by the District Attorney’s Office.
The mother, identified in the statement as Ms. S, the father, Mr. A, and their 23-year-old daughter called police. Dominguez and two other officers arrived at the scene, with the former taking the “lead investigative role,” per the statement.
Dominguez began the investigation by talking to the daughter.
“Officer Dominguez took interest in her and continued to interact almost exclusively with her,” the statement read.
After she gave the officer a possible location, Dominguez allegedly ordered the other two officers to conduct the search. While he “milled around the home,” according to the statement, “he managed to keep the daughter in view of his Body Worn Camera.”
The daughter then asked Dominguez about her brother’s GPS monitor, which they — and Ms. S, the mother — went to retrieve together. After Dominguez was handed the monitor, the mother alleged that Dominguez unzipped his pants and began rubbing his crotch. The daughter also allegedly witnessed this.
Later, the daughter went into the kitchen to get her mother a glass of water. Dominguez allegedly followed her into the kitchen.
As he turned around to face Ms. S, she “saw Officer Dominguez’s penis outside of his pants fully exposed,” the statement read.
The mother and daughter then went to find Mr. A, the father, and they called an uncle who was near the scene.
When Mr. A returned into the kitchen, he “saw Officer Dominguez facing out of the kitchen with his erect penis in his left hand and his right hand on the counter.” Mr. A left the house; a few minutes minutes later, Dominguez allegedly left and went back to work.
“The charged behavior is beyond disturbing,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “Law enforcement officers respond to our homes to help crime victims, not terrorize, traumatize, and create new victims.”
This is not the first misconduct incident within the past month involving San Jose police. An officer investigating the kidnapping of 3-month-old Brandon Cuellar was allegedly drunk during the investigation, tipping off an FBI agent at the scene, KRON reported.
Dominguez is on administrative leave following the incident, the District Attorney’s Office said. His arraignment is scheduled for June 22.
