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County Sheriff Investigating Deputy's 'Disturbing' Confrontation In Lancaster
Topline:
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna is promising an "objective" review of a confrontation between a sheriff's deputy, a man and a woman at a grocery store in Lancaster. The confrontation was about an alleged robbery at the store, and both the man and woman were arrested.
What we know: Videos recorded by two deputy-worn body cameras and the smartphones of witnesses show an L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy grabbing the woman, pinning her to the ground, and pepper-spraying her while she was down. Sheriff Robert Luna has seen the footage but says it's not clear what led to the confrontation.
Why it matters: Community members have expressed outrage over the actions of the deputies from the L.A. County Sheriff Department's Lancaster station. In 2015, the department settled federal allegations that deputies in the Antelope Valley engaged in excessive use of force and racial profiling of Blacks and Latinos.
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What's next: The Los Angeles County Inspector General's Office and the State Department of Justice are assisting in the investigation. Both responding deputies have been reassigned from field duty as the investigations continue. Sheriff Luna called the footage "disturbing" and said, "There's a lot to this so I ask for the community's patience to allow us to look at this objectively and figure out exactly what happened." He also asked that anyone who witnessed the confrontation in person, or recorded more video, come forward.
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