The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has released body-camera footage that shows the moment deputies grappled and shoved a woman to the ground outside of a store in Lancaster, California.
The sheriff's office says deputies were dispatched to a WinCo grocery store on Saturday, 24 June to respond to a shoplifting report, according to ABC7.
“Upon arrival, deputies approached a man and a woman matching the description given by store security personnel in calls placed to 911,” the LASD said in a news release. “As deputies attempted to detain the individuals described by store security personnel, the encounter escalated into a use of force incident.”
The department said it released the footage in an effort to remain transparent.
A man and a woman appear in the footage and are believed to be the suspects the deputies were called to investigate. The man can be heard asking officers why he's being taken into custody.
"Why am I under arrest ... for what?" he can be heard asking in the video.
The deputy responds by saying the individual is not under arrest, but that they are being detained.
The man, growing frustrated, demands to know why he's being detained. That prompts another deputy to warn the man that he needs to "calm down."
A woman, believed to be the second shoplifting suspect, had been recording the arrest with her phone when deputies turned their attention to her.
A deputy moves to grab her to place her in handcuffs the woman pushes the deputies away.
"No, you can't touch me!" she yells in the footage.
She continues to resist for a moment, after which a deputy grabs the back of her shirt and throws her to the ground. He then tries to keep her pinned to the ground — including pepper spraying her while she's on the ground — as he waits for backup to arrive.
During their struggle the deputy continues to shout orders, telling the woman to "get on the ground" while she yells stop, and warns him that the exchange is "already on YouTube live."
The deputy eventually threatens to punch the woman in the face, after which she says if he does she will sue him.
Another angle on the incident revealed that the man being arrested asked the deputies not to slam the woman, claiming she had cancer.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy shoves a woman to the ground after she films him arresting a man accused of shoplifting— (LASD/Screen grab ABC7)
The couple were ultimately cited and released, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, the LASD refused to specify what citation the couple received.
Tom Yu, the attorney representing the deputies, said they had been dispatched with the understanding that they were dealing with an alleged robbery in progress in which the suspects had threatened employees. He said the woman would not have been confronted if she had followed the deputy's instructions.
"There's a narrative of saying, 'The deputies struck her down because she was recording,'' Mr Yu said. "She's not an innocent bystander. She's involved. She's detained in this robbery investigation."
The deputies involved in the incident have been reassigned from their field duties pending a review.
The LASD issued a statement in the wake of the incident assuring the public it would hold its own accountable.
"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 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 statement said. "In the interest of transparency with our community, the Sheriff's Department is releasing body-worn camera video from the incident."
At least one citizen group is planning to protest and call for the deputy's termination on Wednesday at 5pm.
The demonstration will be held by Cancel the Contract, a group that supports taking city financial resources from law enforcement and using it to improve neighborhoods where people of colour predominantly live.
Waunette Callors, a member of the organization, told ABC 7 that the deputies' actions were overkill, and said the woman in the video was no threat to the men.
"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 video-taping - 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 said.
