Officer(s) Involved: Los Angeles probationary police officer Nicolas Enmanuel Quintanilla-Borja.
Synopsis: Inglewood police officers were sent to the 3500 block of West 116th Street on Friday morning, 7 May 2021, in response to a family disturbance call, according to the Inglewood Police Department.
That visit resulted in the arrest of Quintanilla-Borja, 29, for allegedly threatening to kill his cousin and another man. The arrest triggered an internal investigation into how he was hired last year despite previous off-duty incidents involving alleged excessive alcohol use, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said.
Quintanilla-Borja pleaded not guilty Tuesday to one count each of false imprisonment by violence and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, along with two counts of making criminal threats, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He also faces sentence-enhancing allegations that he used a firearm.
Quintanilla-Borja returned to his Inglewood home last Friday and allegedly threatened to kill his 37-year-old cousin, who barricaded himself inside a room. The officer then went outside, where he allegedly made similar threats to a 64-year-old man who also lived on the property, pulled out a gun and pointed it at the man, who managed to get away and call 911, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The police chief said he removed peace officer power from Quintanilla-Borja and assigned him to home during the investigation.
Moore said the LAPD will also look into its hiring practices and how the department missed earlier allegations of misconduct off-duty and excessive use of alcohol involving Quintanilla-Borja.
“This incident did involve allegations of excessive use of alcohol and not on a single event, but earlier accounts attributed to this officer’s conduct off duty,” Moore said. “This (investigation) will involve us looking at all of that to see how did we miss it.”
Quintanilla-Borja was hired by the LAPD in January 2020 and was assigned to the 77th Street Division.
Outcome: Quintanilla-Borja was released after posting a surety bond in the amount of $275,000. As of early 2025, there is no indication a trial date has been set. The case number related to these charges is YA103844, and can be looked up here: https://www.lacourt.org/criminalcasesummary/ui/
