Ex-LAPD officer charged with lewd acts on children dies in custody

A former Los Angeles Police Department officer who was charged with committing lewd acts on four boys at his Covina-area home has died while in custody, officials said Monday.

Sheriff’s department officials said only that Paul Razo, 46, died of medical complications, but no further information was released.

Razo was arrested May 10, five days after he was charged by prosecutors with eight counts of lewd acts on a child. He was scheduled to appear in court for arraignment on multiple days last week, and again on Monday, but the hearing was repeatedly delayed for unspecified reasons.

He was being held in lieu of $2.5 million bail at the sheriff’s Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles, according to inmate records.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Razo allegedly committed the lewd acts at his home, which sheriff’s officials said was in the 4800 block of Brightview Drive in an unincorporated area bordering Covina. Prosecutors said two of the alleged victims were related to Razo, while two others are related to a woman Razo dated.

The children ranged in age from roughly 9 to 13 years old when the alleged abuse began, prosecutors said. The alleged crimes occurred between 2006 and 2017, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Following his arrest, the LAPD released a statement saying it “is aware of the criminal case involving former Police Officer Paul Razo. The Los Angeles Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division initiated an administrative investigation, which is being conducted simultaneously with the pending criminal case. The administrative investigation will include reviewing his past work history for similar behavior.

“Chief Michel Moore is deeply disturbed by these allegations as they are in direct opposition to the Department’s Core Values and expectations of a Los Angeles Police Officer. Officer Razo has been employed by the Los Angeles Police Department for approximately 24 years and was last assigned to Hollywood Area as a training coordinator. He separated from the Department in March 2023,” the LAPD statement said.

In 2018, Razo received an LAPD Medal of Valor for pulling a man out of a burning car that he saw crash in July 2016 in Glendora while off-duty.