“You can’t touch me,” she tried to leave.
Seconds later, the deputy pushed her to the ground. He was then pepper sprayed and handcuffed while on the ground.
A bystander captured video of the June 24 incident, which was shared online, prompting an outcry about the deputy’s use of force. This week, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released body-camera footage of the two deputies involved, showing them taking both a man and a woman into custody. At a news conference Wednesday, Sheriff Robert Luna called the incident “disturbing,” adding: “There’s no doubt about it.”
Luna said the two deputies have been removed from the field pending an investigation that includes body-camera footage, surveillance video from the store and bystander recording and interviews with those involved.
“There’s a lot to it,” he said. “So I ask for the patience of the community to look at this objectively and find out what happened.”
The Sheriff’s Department has not publicly identified the two deputies or the man and woman involved in the incident.
Luna, the man was arrested and charged with interfering with business, petit larceny or attempted petit larceny, and resisting or delaying an officer. According to Luna, the woman was arrested and charged with assault and battery on an officer after allegedly assaulting security personnel inside the grocery store.
He said the woman suffered eye pain after being pepper-sprayed and was treated for cuts on her hands.
Deputy prosecutor Tom Yu, who pushed the woman to the ground, said his client “used a reasonable amount of force to overcome the suspect’s resistance.”
“I understand that it might look a little harsh on the video, but to be honest, I don’t think any kind of force you use is good,” Yu said.
It was unclear as of Wednesday evening whether the second suspect has an attorney.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release: Deputies from the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station attended the grocery store. liberation. On the 911 call, staff According to Luna, two customers allegedly assaulted security personnel.
Outside, deputies saw two customers matching the description given by employees, he said.
According to body-camera videos, they first arrested the man who was holding the cake. Moments later, one of the officers approached the woman, who was shown in the footage holding up her cell phone.
After the deputy pushed the woman to the sidewalk, he yelled: “Get on the floor,” body-camera video said, and she yelled at him to stop.
“Stop, or you’ll get punched in the face,” the deputy replied, the footage shows.
After about 10 seconds, the woman said: “I can’t breathe.”
The deputy pepper-sprays her face seconds later, then handcuffs her while she’s on the ground. While handcuffing the woman, the deputy can be seen placing his knee near the woman’s shoulder, which Yu said his client handcuffed to “safely control the situation.”
Both the woman and man were cited and released after the incident. The Sheriff’s Department did not clarify their relationship.
Luna said she was made aware of the incident Friday night, and the department released the body-camera videos days later in an effort to be transparent. In the coming days, the department plans to organize a meeting with community leaders to address their concerns, he said.
According to Luna, deputies found to have engaged in misconduct could face a range of disciplinary actions, including termination.
“We take very seriously the use of force that occurs within our organization,” he said. “But again, we have to determine the actual facts.”
