FBI investigating violence by Los Angeles County deputies

The FBI has launched criminal investigations into two violent incidents involving Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, one of which involved a deputy punching a woman as she was holding her baby.

That case began as a traffic stop in July 2022 in Palmdale, a community north of Los Angeles, in July 2022. Details of the incident first became public Thursday, when Sheriff Robert Luna held a news conference saying that the officer involved has been relieved of his duties.

Body camera footage shows a tense interaction between the deputies and a woman who was sitting on the ground, clutching her baby.

After a prolonged exchange, the deputies attempted to forcibly remove the child from the woman’s arms, while one officer appeared to repeatedly throw punches toward her head.

The second case being investigated by the FBI occurred last month, when deputies responded to reports of a robbery in progress at a grocery store in Lancaster, a city near Palmdale.

As they apprehended a male suspect in the parking lot, a female bystander began recording the incident with her phone. One of the deputies swiftly approached her and tried to grab her arm in an apparent effort to seize her phone.

A confrontation ensued, leading to the deputy throwing the woman to the ground, verbally arguing with her, pepper-spraying her, and handcuffing her.

Separate from those federal investigations, the California Department of Justice has announced its review of the shooting of 18-year-old Andres Guardado by a county sheriff’s deputy in Gardena, a city south of Los Angeles, in 2020.

Guardado was reportedly working as a security guard and had surrendered to police before he was shot in the back while lying face down on the ground.

Last year, Los Angeles County agreed to pay an $8 million settlement to Guardado’s family. Guardado’s relatives have said they will not be satisfied until the deputy is held criminally responsible.

Since taking over as Los Angeles County’s sheriff in December, Luna has been spoken about the need to build public trust in the department.

With News Wire Services