Navy Detective, Former El Cajon Police Officer, Pleads Guilty to Unreasonable Use of Force

A local Navy detective and one-time police officer who used the largely banned carotid restraint neck hold on a handcuffed man, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges.

Jonathan Christopher Laroche, 40, of Spring Valley, entered the plea to using unreasonable force on the man last year, as well as lying on his application to the Navy’s Criminal Investigations Division regarding why he left the El Cajon Police Department.

Prosecutors say Laroche resigned from the department in 2018 after learning he was going to be fired for using excessive force against civilians on two separate occasions the prior year. He was also reprimanded in 2015 for a separate excessive force incident, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

But on his application to the Navy in 2022, Laroche said he left ECPD because he had been “hired by U.S. Department of Defense police” and made other false statements, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Prosecutors say that last November Laroche used the carotid restraint technique on a man who had been detained and was being held at Naval Base San Diego. They say he put the man, whose hands were handcuffed behind him, to the ground and restrained him for about 17 seconds, causing the man to pass out.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that later the man was handcuffed to a bench and Laroche grabbed him by the throat and pushed his head into a wall.

As part of his plea agreement, Laroche must resign his position. He also will be prohibited from seeking employment with law enforcement agencies.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 2 before U.S. District Court Judge John A. Houston.

In 2020, numerous local police departments, including San Diego police, announced they were banning use of the carotid restraint technique. Legislation was later signed into law banning its use statewide.

The following year, the Department of Justice announced the technique would be banned outside of situations where deadly force is authorized.

– City News Service