Investigation Launched After LA County Deputy Is Caught on Camera Throwing Woman on Ground Outside of Grocery Store
July 5 2023, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
A viral video showing an L.A. County deputy throwing a woman onto the ground while she stood by recording an arrest is being reviewed by authorities, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The incident unfolded outside the WinCo grocery store on June 24, at which time deputies were apprehending a man and woman accused of shoplifting.
As he was being cuffed, the woman pulled out her phone to capture the police encounter with the suspect reported to be her husband.
Witness Lisa Michelle Garrett posted the video on Facebook. "I was just so flabbergasted that he knocked her down like he did. Like she was some big old threatening man with a gun," Garrett told a local news outlet.
She began filming after seven loss prevention officers escorted the pair out of the store. When deputies showed up, the woman was yelling about their rights and holding up her device. He informed her she was going to be detained.
The woman told the deputy to keep his hands off her before he grabbed her and slammed her to the ground. The cuffed man then yelled, "Don't slam her down like that," and claimed she is battling cancer.
In the video, the deputy was seen pepper spraying the woman. "I can't breathe," she was heard saying in the bodycam video released by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.
"Get down on the ground!" the deputy yelled out. "It's already on YouTube live!" she replied. The back and forth continued until the deputy allegedly said, "Stop it or I'll punch you in the face."
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An activist group called Cancel the Contract said the officer used excessive force.
"That was the allegation — that they had shoplifted a cake," member Raquel Derfler told KABC. "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."
Tom Yu, an attorney for the deputies, said they were sent to handle what was reported as a robbery in progress, during which the suspects had allegedly threatened store employees.
Yu said if the woman had complied, no force would have been needed to take her down.
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"The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has opened an investigation into this incident," their official statement read. "While the Department does not make statements related to ongoing investigations, Sheriff 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. In the interest of transparency with our community, the Sheriff's Department is releasing body-worn camera video from the incident."
