Ex-El Cajon Officer Sentenced 15 Months for Excessive Force

Former Navy detective and El Cajon police officer Jonathan Christopher Laroche was sentenced to 15 months in prison for using excessive force on a handcuffed Navy sailor at Naval Base San Diego. Laroche pleaded guilty to using unreasonable force and lying on his application to the Navy's Criminal Investigations Division about his departure from the El Cajon Police Department, where he had previously faced reprimands for similar misconduct. The incident occurred in November 2023 when Laroche, while off-duty, choked the intoxicated sailor with a banned carotid restraint hold, leading to the victim losing consciousness. U.S. District Judge John Houston described the actions as