LOS ANGELES — The chief of the Los Angeles Police Department told graduating cadets on Saturday to “be strong. Be ethically correct. Do the right thing,” after a scandal in the youth program involving allegations of stolen police cars and underage sex.
During a ceremony at the University of Southern California, Police Chief Charlie Beck told more than 2,000 teenagers and young adults that the day was joyous but also somber because some cadets had acted inappropriately and a department officer had “acted criminally.”
On Thursday, Beck personally arrested officer Robert Cain. The 10-year veteran is accused of having relations with a 15-year-old cadet.
A search of Cain’s Rancho Cucamonga home also turned up a cache of weapons that were being examined to determine whether they were legal under California law.
The 15-year-old is among seven cadets arrested in recent days on suspicion of unlawfully using stun guns, radios and police cars to joyride and pose as officers.