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Lawsuit from man badly beaten by LA County sheriff’s deputies can move forward
Vanessa Perez displaying a photo of herself and her son, Joseph, together.
(
Brian Feinzimer
/
LAist
)
Topline:
A lawsuit against Los Angeles County filed on behalf of a man who was severely beaten by sheriff’s deputies will move forward. That’s after a Superior Court judge on Monday denied a motion from the county’s attorney that could have seen the case dismissed.
The backstory: Joseph Perez lives with schizophrenia. In 2020, the 28-year-old was seriously beaten by a group of L.A. County sheriff’s deputies. Perez’s mother, Vanessa Perez, alleges the beating took place just hours after she informed the department that her son lives with mental illness and needed psychiatric help. The deputies alleged Perez was resisting arrest and that they too were injured in the scuffle, according to partially redacted department records.
The reaction: Standing outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse Monday morning,
Vanessa Perez told LAist she was happy with the judge's ruling. “I’m overwhelmed... Maybe justice will come,” she said. The attorney representing the county declined to comment citing ongoing litigation.
A fight for records: In a separate case, the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission — a county sheriff watchdog group — subpoenaed the department for an unredacted use-of-force report from the night Perez was beaten. So far, the Sheriff’s Department has not supplied the information.
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