LA County Sheriff's department releases video of deputy slamming woman to ground
The Los Angeles County sheriff's department has launched an investigation after two deputies were seen using force to detain two people at a grocery store last month in a "disturbing" video.
Deputies responded to a report of a robbery in progress at a grocery store in Lancaster in northern Los Angeles County on June 24 and tried to detain a man and a woman police said matched the description given by store security personnel, the sheriff's department said in a statement Monday. The encounter then "escalated into a use of force incident," the department said. The incident was captured on body camera and cellphone video.
"It’s disturbing,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Wednesday. "There’s no ifs and buts about it."
What does the video show?
One of the body camera videos released by the department begins with a deputy arriving and repeatedly telling a man to put his hands on the hood of the car and sit down as the man insists he hasn't done anything wrong. Two deputies approach the man, say they are going to pat him down and place him in handcuffs as he complains about a problem with his arm, the video shows.
The man can be heard asking why he is being arrested, and a deputy replies he is being detained. A deputy forces him to the ground as the man says that he is "not going to fight" and that the woman has cancer, according to the footage.
Meanwhile, the other deputy can be seen in a second video released by the department approaching a woman who appears to be filming the interaction on her cellphone. She can be heard saying "you can't touch me" as he reaches toward her and throws her to the ground.
The footage shows the deputy repeatedly tells her to "stop" and get on the ground as he tries to restrain her. During the struggle, the deputy threatens to punch the woman in the face and she threatens to sue him, according to the video.
The woman says she can't breathe moments before he sprays her in the face with OC spray, also called pepper spray, the video shows. He threatens to spray her again and then places her in handcuffs. She repeatedly asks why the deputy is "manhandling" her.
The man asks whether the woman is OK, and the woman later says she can't see as the deputies place them in separate police cars.
“All you had to do was listen,” a deputy told the woman.
“I didn’t do anything,” she replied, later claiming the deputy was angry because she was filming the encounter.
What happened to the deputies?
Luna said he didn't learn about the incident until six days after it happened. Both deputies have been reassigned from field duty, according to the statement.
The department is investigating the incident to determine whether the use of force was "reasonable, necessary, appropriate and proportional to the level of actions described" and will review footage of the incident including body camera, surveillance and cellphone video, the statement said.
If the deputies − who were not identified − are found to have engaged in misconduct, they could face discipline including training, letters of reprimand, days off or dismissal, Luna said.
Tom Yu, an attorney who said he is representing the deputy who restrained the woman in the video, told USA TODAY he doesn't believe his client will be disciplined, fired or criminally charged.
"I would just invite you and others to really look at what these two people did," Yu said. "I understand that it's a use of force, it's going to get investigated, but I don't think there's enough focus on what they did to cause the deputies to use the force."
Luna said his department notified the county's inspector general and civilian oversight commission as well as the federal monitors who are overseeing a 2015 police reform agreement. That agreement resolved allegations that deputies in the Antelope Valley engaged in misconduct including excessive use of force and stops that appeared to be motivated by racial bias, according to the Justice Department.
What happened to the man and woman?
The sheriff's department initially said the man and the woman were not injured during the arrest. But Luna said Wednesday the woman had scrapes on her arms, complained of pain in her eyes after being pepper-sprayed and was treated at a local hospital.
The man was arrested and cited for resisting or delaying an officer, petty theft or attempted petty theft and interfering with a business, and the woman was arrested and cited for assaulting an officer and battery after assaulting loss prevention personnel, Luna said. The sheriff did not identify the man and woman and said their relationship was unclear.
A protest was held Wednesday at the grocery store and demonstrators said the deputies involved should be fired, KTLA reported. Luna said department leaders will organize a meeting with community stakeholders later this week to give them an opportunity "to bring forward their concerns regarding this incident."
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LA deputy throws woman to ground in 'disturbing' use of force video
