The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has made a pair of moves since a video showed a deputy assaulting a Black woman. Since the June 24 incident, the department has released bodycam footage from the involved officers and removed both from field duty.
According to CNN, the latest information comes as the police force continues its investigation into the encounter. After releasing the footage to the public, the department spoke briefly about its context. “As deputies attempted to detain the individuals described by store security personnel, the encounter escalated into a use of force incident that was captured by a community member with a cell phone camera,” the sheriff’s department said in a news release. “The video is disturbing.”
Yesterday (July 5), Robert Luna, a county sheriff, stated, “I have seen the video – both the video collected by the community member and our body-worn camera footage that we put out Monday night. And it’s disturbing. There’s no ifs and buts about it.”
As REVOLT previously mentioned, authorities responded to a call at a grocery store in Lancaster, California made by WinCo security. Upon arrival, deputies attempted to detain a Black couple matching the description given. In the video, the man is heard telling an officer he did nothing wrong, noting, “They approached us first.” The man later added, “I told them to call the police,” telling the deputy, “I waited for you.” While being arrested, he informed officers that his arm was messed up. The footage then showed a deputy forcing him to the ground. The man told the arresting policeman that he was “not going to fight” him and that his wife has cancer.
While the encounter took place, a Black woman, the man’s wife, recorded it. As authorities approached her, she told the deputy he could not touch her as he reached for her cell phone. The video showed the officer throwing the woman to the ground. The policeman is viewed placing his hand on the back of her neck. “Stop, or you’re gonna get punched in the face,” the deputy said as she threatened to sue. A bystander recording the officer’s assault on the woman showed the deputy placing his knee on the lady’s neck. After being handcuffed, she was brought to where her husband and another policeman waited. “We take the use of force very seriously and are determined to establish the facts of the incident,” the department said.