The Esmeralda Rossi Case

Ms. Rossi was handcuffed naked in front of her teenage daughter

Chandler Police Department body cam captures illegal arrest of a naked woman. An internal investigation found officer Doug Rose illegally entered the home of Esmeralda Rossi and unlawfully arrested her while she was naked. Ms. Rossi was handcuffed naked in front of her teenage daughter. Police later found the officer had no reason to enter the woman’s house. Rose retired in the middle of his department’s internal investigation. Ms. Rossi hired attorney Marc J. Victor of the Attorneys For Freedom law firm and filed a lawsuit against the city of Chandler.

The misconduct case was first profiled by ABC15 in Phoenix, Arizona. Cell phone video captured the entire incident, causing the story to go viral as people expressed outrage over Officer Rose’s actions.

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 to 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.

The Chandler City Council approved a six-figure settlement in the police misconduct case to settle the lawsuit filed by Ms. Rossi’s attorney Marc J. Victor of the Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm.