The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating after video surfaced showing a deputy punching a transgender man during a violent encounter in Whittier earlier this year.
The Feb. 10 incident occurred in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven on Mills Avenue and the man involved, 23-year-old Emmet Brock, said he was left humiliated and with a concussion.
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department takes all use of force incidents seriously. The Department is investigating the information and allegations brought forward by Mr. Brock and his attorney. Unfortunately, we cannot comment any further at this time due to the pending litigation in this matter,” the agency said in a statement Monday.
Video of the arrest shows the deputy, identified by the Los Angeles Times as Joseph Benza, pulling into the parking lot directly behind 23-year-old Emmet Brock’s car, blocking him in.
The deputy is then seen exiting his cruiser and approaching Brock as he was getting out of his Honda.
“Come here. I just stopped you,” the deputy is heard saying.
“No, you didn’t,” Brock replies as he turns toward the entrance of the store.
“Yeah, I did,” the deputy replies as he grabs Brock and quickly takes him down.
As Brock continued to struggle on the ground, screaming for help, the deputy is seen on top of him, holding him down and punching him in the head.
The altercation lasted around three minutes before Brock, a schoolteacher, was handcuffed and put into the deputy’s cruiser.
Brock’s attorney, Thomas Beck, said the deputy’s official reason for pulling his client over was an air freshener hanging from the car’s rear-view mirror. But Beck believes the deputy became enraged after Brock flipped him off as he was driving by.
“The video speaks for itself. He was pounding at the kid’s head. He was diagnosed with a concussion later after he was released. This guy committed multiple felonies against my client, and he’s gotten away with it so far,” Beck told KTLA Sunday.
Additionally, Brock and his lawyer claim that after the arrest, Brock was taken to the Norwalk sheriff’s station where he said he was humiliated when he told staff that he was a transgender man and they asked to see his genitals before deciding which holding cell to put him in.
He has since lost his job.
In response to the recent release of the video, the Los Angeles LGBT Center is calling for Benza’s suspension.
“It has long been clear that Los Angeles needs immediate reforms on police use of force, and that marginalized people bear the brunt of police-related violence,” Joe Hollendoner, CEO of the center, said in a statement Monday. “What is so troubling about this situation is that this officer was cleared of wrong-doing, and without this video footage being released, this violent encounter would likely have been swept under the rug. Our community—and the people of Los Angeles—deserve better.”
Brock has been charged with two misdemeanors, resisting arrest and battery on an officer, though he and his lawyer claim Benza used excessive force.
February’s incident is the latest case of LASD deputies being accused of excessive force.
Last July, video showed a deputy punching a new mother in the face in Palmdale, and last month a deputy was seen on video slamming a woman on the ground in Lancaster.
