Video of L.A. deputy slamming woman down was ‘disturbing,’ sheriff says

“You can’t touch me,” she said, trying to move away.

Seconds later, the deputy pushed her to the ground. He later pepper-sprayed and handcuffed her while she was still on the ground.

A bystander took video of the June 24 incident, which was shared online, sparking outcry about the deputy’s use of force. This week, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released body-camera footage from the two deputies involved, showing them detaining both the man and woman. In a news conference Wednesday, Sheriff Robert Luna called the incident “disturbing,” adding: “There’s no ifs and buts about it.”

Luna said both deputies have been removed from field duty pending an investigation that will include reviews of the body-camera footage, surveillance video from the store and the bystander’s recording, as well as interviews with those involved.

“There’s a lot to this,” he said. “So I ask for the community’s patience to allow us to look at this objectively and figure out exactly what happened.”

The sheriff’s department has not publicly identified the two deputies or the man and woman involved in the incident.

Luna said the man was arrested and accused of interfering with a business, petty theft or attempted petty theft, and resisting or delaying an officer. The woman was arrested and accused of assaulting an officer and battery after she allegedly assaulted security personnel inside the grocery store, according to Luna.

He added that the woman complained of eye pain after she was pepper-sprayed and that she was treated for cuts on her arms.

Tom Yu, an attorney representing the deputy who pushed the woman to the ground, said his client used a “reasonable amount of force to overcome the resistance of the suspect.”

“I understand that it may look a little bit harsh in the video, but truth be told, I don’t think there’s any kind of use of force you can engage in that looks good,” Yu said.

It was unclear whether the second deputy had an attorney as of Wednesday evening.

Deputies from the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station went to the grocery store to respond to an “in-progress robbery,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. In a 911 call, employees said two customers had assaulted the security personnel, according to Luna.

Outside, the deputies saw two customers matching the description given by the employees, he said.

They first detained the man, who was holding a cake, according to the body-camera videos. Shortly after, one of the officers walked toward the woman, who is shown in the footage holding up her cellphone.

After the deputy pushed the woman to the pavement, he yelled: “Get on the ground,” according to the body-camera video, and she shouted for him to stop.

“Stop, or you’re going to get punched in the face,” the deputy responded, footage shows.

About 10 seconds later, the woman said: “I can’t breathe.”

The deputy pepper-sprayed her in the face seconds later, then handcuffed her while she was on the ground. While handcuffing the woman, the deputy can be seen putting his knee near the woman’s shoulder blade, which Yu said his client did “to control that situation to safely” handcuff her.

After the incident, the woman and man were cited and released. The sheriff’s department has not clarified their relationship.

Luna said he was made aware of the incident on Friday night, adding that the department released the body-camera videos days later in an attempt to be transparent. In the coming days, the department has plans to organize a meeting with community leaders about their concerns, he said.

Deputies found to be involved in misconduct could face a variety of disciplinary measures, including dismissal, according to Luna.

“We do take the use of force, any use of force that occurs within our agency, very seriously,” he said. “But again, we need to determine the actual facts.”