The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department opened an investigation after “disturbing” body camera footage showed a deputy threaten to punch a woman in the face and then slam her to the ground during an arrest over an alleged theft at a grocery store.
Two videos were released by the department Wednesday following a press briefing to address the June 24 incident at a Lancaster grocery store. The two deputies involved were reassigned from field duty pending further investigation, a spokesperson said. Their names have not been released.
The department called the videos “disturbing.” The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Professional Association did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday.
One video shows a deputy arrive at the scene and yell at a man to put his hands on the hood of the car but the man refuses and says he did nothing wrong. The deputy instead instructs the man to sit down and the man complies.
As the man tries to explain what happened at the store, the two deputies place him in handcuffs. At one point in the video, the deputy roughly places the man on the ground.
“Why you doing this to me, man? We ain’t even did nothing,” the man says.
The second video shows that the woman was filming the man’s arrest. The second deputy reaches for her cell phone, grabs her and slams her to the ground. The deputy yells various commands at the woman, telling her to get on the ground although she’s already on the concrete. The deputy is heard in the video telling the woman he would punch her.
“Stop or you’re going to get punched in the face,” he says.
“Punch me and you’re going to get sued, too,” the woman responds.
The man, who refers to the woman as his wife, tells the deputies that she has cancer.
The video shows the deputy pepper spraying the woman in the face before placing her in handcuffs. The woman suffered abrasions on her arms and was treated at a hospital.
Sheriff Robert Luna said the two deputies were responding to an alleged theft at a grocery store involving the man and woman, who he did not name. He said the woman had been involved in a “theft altercation” with store employees and loss prevention security.
“Upon arrival, deputies approached a man, and a woman, matching the description given by store security personnel in calls placed to 911,” the agency said in a news release.
“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 agency said.
The woman was arrested and cited for assaulting an officer and battery after assaulting loss prevention personnel, according to the sheriff. The man was arrested and cited for delaying an officer, attempted petty theft, and interfering with a business, Luna said. It’s not clear if they have obtained attorneys.
The sheriff’s office investigation into the incident will include reviewing body-worn camera video, surveillance video from the store as well as cell phone video provided by a community member.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
