A California cop was arrested after he was caught masturbating by a family who called police for help with a domestic disturbance, officials said Thursday.
San Jose Officer Matthew Dominguez, 32, allegedly “touched himself” in front of two female family members in the home on April 21 — then exposed himself to the mother, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
The “shocked and scared” women ran to two men elsewhere in the house, and one of the allegedly saw Dominguez exposing himself in the dining area of the home, the DA said.
“The charged behavior is beyond disturbing,” DA Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Law enforcement officers respond to our homes to help crime victims, not terrorize, traumatize, and create new victims.”
Dominguez, who worked for the department for four years, had been called to the home with other officers on a report of a mentally ill family member getting violent, officials said.
Dominguez allegedly sent two other officers away to find the mentally ill family member before he exposed himself, the DA said.
The officer is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, a spokesperson for San Jose police said. He was slapped with a charge of indecent exposure and could face a year in jail and 10 years on the sex offender registry.
Police Chief Anthony Mata released a YouTube video Thursday showing him walking Dominguez out of the Internal Affairs Office of the department.
“Last week I said that when an officer violated the public’s trust or engages in criminal conduct I would personally walk that Officer out the door. Today I did it,” Mata said in a statement provided to The Post.
The incident was one of several involving the department that has come to light in recent weeks, according to NBC Bay Area, which first reported on the allegations against Dominguez last week.
Another officer was put on leave for allegedly responding drunk to a report of kidnapping, while another is being investigated for claims he traded a meth pipe to a woman in exchange for information, NBC reported.
The police chief said he is proposing a change to the disciplinary proceedings that will allow him to “speak openly with the public” when he believes firing a cop is the only option.
“Let me start by sharing my commitment to transparency,” he said in a previous statement. “The days of saying this is a ‘personnel matter’ are over in the San Jose Police Department. My administration and I will share what we can when it comes to investigations. Although the amount of information we can provide may be limited, we will provide it.”