SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, September 1, a San Francisco Police Department spokesperson announced that there will be an investigation into the accusation that was placed against a SF police officer for sexual assault.
The SFPD reported that the identity of the officer that is being investigated is Jason Louis Lai. It was reported that the officer in question was placed in a job that will limit his contact with the public. He was also relieved of his department issued firearm.
Lai is not the only individual being investigated, another second officer is being investigated for trying to cover-up the incident. Lt. Curtis Liu is also under investigation as it has been discovered that Lai had informed Liu of the incident, but Liu did not go through the proper procedures.
Liu had been informing his superiors that he was conducting the investigation and completing all the necessary steps, but was impeding the investigation. Due to his redirection, it allowed for time to pass in the investigation, time that could be considered critical to the investigation. Within that time evidence may have been destroyed or altered.
It was discovered through a search warrant issued from the SFPD that the alleged assault occurred last month. It was reported that on August 7, around 7:30 p.m. a woman entered San Francisco General Hospital Rape Trauma Center with injuries that were related to a sexual assault that occurred five days prior. When the woman was first questioned she refused to answer, but a couple of days later she filed a report with authorities.
According to the victim, she and the suspect had gone out on a date on August 2 and then after returned to the victim’s home in the Sunset District. According to the police report filed, they both began to drink heavily before entering the victim’s bedroom where the sexual assault reportedly occurred. The victim reported that she had told the suspect “no” several times but she was ignored and held down, while the suspect proceeded to rape her.
When the officer was questioned he claimed that he could not recall any details of the incident due to the excessive alcohol consumption.
This is an ongoing investigation that the SFPD are working alongside the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office
