Newly released police bodycam video captures the moment an LA sheriff’s deputy slammed a woman to the ground and pepper-sprayed her after a robbery at a grocery store.
Deputies from the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station responded to a 911 call about a robbery in progress at a WinCo store on West Avenue on June 24, KABC reported.
“Upon arrival, deputies approached a man and a woman matching the description given by store security personnel,” the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
“As deputies attempted to detain the individuals described by store security personnel, the encounter escalated into a use of force incident,” the agency added.
“Why am I under arrest … for what?” the man is heard saying in the footage posted by the news outlet.
“You are not under arrest, you are being detained,” the deputy replies.
“Detained for what?” asks the man, who is told to “calm down” before he is handcuffed as the confrontation escalates.
Newly released police bodycam video captured an LA deputy confronting a woman after responding to a 911 call about a robbery at a grocery store. KABC / LA County Sheriff's Department
The deputy is seen grabbing the woman after she recorded the interaction with police. KABC / LA County Sheriff's DepartmentThe deputies then try to grab the woman’s arm as she records the incident on her phone, but she pushes them away.
“No, you can’t touch me!” the woman yells.
“Stop! Stop!” the deputy shouts at the woman, who screams after being thrown to the ground.
“Get down on the ground!” he yells.
“It’s already on YouTube Live!” the woman shouts back as the struggle continues.
“Stop or you’re going to get punched in the face!” the deputy then yells.
The woman responds: “You punch me, you’re going to get sued.”
She adds: “It’s not a fight. You threw me down to the ground. Stop manhandling me!”
The footage shows the deputy slamming the woman to the ground. KABC / LA County Sheriff's DepartmentThe deputy then pepper-sprays the woman, who accused him of putting his knee on her neck.
“I can’t breathe,” she’s heard saying.
Meanwhile, cellphone video captured by a bystander shows the man who was arrested yelling, “Don’t slam her down like that!” He also claims she has cancer.
The witness, Michelle Garrett, told NBC LA that she began recording when she saw deputies approach the man and woman in the parking lot.
The woman has accused the deputy of putting his knee on her neck. KABC / LA County Sheriff's Department“It was really intense. It was scary,” Garret told the outlet. “I just couldn’t believe my eyes. When he slammed her down, I was like ‘Ah, my God.'”
The two deputies involved in the incident have been reassigned from filed duty pending an administrative review.
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has opened an investigation into this incident. While the Department does not make statements related to ongoing investigations, Sheriff [Robert] Luna has made it clear that he expects Department personnel to treat all members of the public with dignity and respect, and that personnel who do not uphold our training standards will be held accountable,” the agency said in a statement.
The deputy pepper-sprayed the woman, who said she couldn’t breathe. KABC / LA County Sheriff's Department“In the interest of transparency with our community, the Sheriff’s Department is releasing body-worn camera video from the incident,” it added.
Tom Yu, a lawyer representing deputies, said they were sent to handle a robbery in progress in which the suspects had allegedly threatened store workers.
He said if the woman had complied with police instructions, the deputies would not have had to use force.
“There’s a narrative of saying, ‘The deputies struck her down because she was recording,”’ Yu told KABC. “She’s not an innocent bystander. She’s involved. She’s detained in this robbery investigation.”
It was unclear whether the man and woman face criminal charges.
The two deputies have been taken off field duty pending an investigation. KABC / LA County Sheriff's DepartmentAn activist group is organizing a rally outside the store Wednesday afternoon to demand that the deputies be fired.
Raquel Derfler, a member of Cancel the Contract, which calls for resources to be diverted from law enforcement and into minority communities, said the couple was accused of swiping a cake.
“So let me be clear, nothing has been proven, but it was alleged … and that’s how they came in hot like that, as though they were brandishing firearms or attacking or assaulting members of the community when it was simply a cake,” Derfler told KABC.
Another activist, Waunette Callors, said: “The point is you see two senior citizens and you are acting like you are in fear of your life.
“You see their whole person, you see their whole body. You see her hands up videotaping, she is of no threat, but he walks over, grabs her by the neck, slams her to the ground, puts his knee there and this ground is hot,” she told KABC.
WinCo has not responded to requests for comment by the outlets.
