Ex-DHSPD officer accused of assaulting boys during arrests arraigned

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) - An ex-cop accused of roughing up two boys while arresting them after they fled an alleged burglary at Desert Hot Springs High School pleaded not guilty today to felony charges.

Johnny Acosta, 30, was arrested last month following a year-long Riverside County Force Investigations Detail Task Force probe into the alleged
acts involving excessive use of force.   

Acosta is charged with gun assault, filing a false report and assault by a peace officer.

He was arraigned before Superior Court Judge John Evans, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Jan. 22 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Acosta is free on a $30,000 bond.   

According to the District Attorney's Office, shortly before 2 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2024, Desert Hot Springs Police Department patrol units were sent to the high school on Pierson Boulevard to investigate a possible break-in.   

Acosta was among the patrolmen who encountered four male suspects fleeing the location when the officers approached, prosecutors said.   

The defendant pursued one 17-year-old boy, resulting in the first act of alleged excessive force, then went after another 17-year-old, culminating in the second alleged instance of heavy-handedness, according to investigators.   

The youths were ultimately taken into custody without incident, and there was no indication that either suffered injuries that required hospitalization.

The specific actions on the part of the defendant were not disclosed, and there was no word regarding damage to the campus during the reported burglary.

Acosta was placed on administrative leave the same day, after which an internal investigation was initiated that led to his dismissal from the police department last March 27.

Acosta was arrested without incident by District Attorney's Office investigators on Nov. 7 and quickly posted bail.