Two federal lawmakers want outgoing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to launch an investigation into a video that purportedly shows Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies slamming a handcuffed jail inmate head-first into a concrete wall.
In letters sent this month, Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, both Democrats, requested the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the incident on July 4, 2022, at the Men’s Central Jail.
The request follows a decision in May by former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon’s office not to file assault charges against the two involved deputies because of insufficient evidence. A probe by county prosecutors could not determine whether the inmate was slammed into the wall or propelled himself as the deputies alleged.
”I believe this assessment mischaracterizes the video footage, and I ask that the DOJ investigate the incident,” Padilla wrote in his Dec. 10 letter.
Kamlager-Dove, who represents a district stretching from Culver City to South Los Angeles, wrote in a letter Dec. 17 that the District Attorney’s Office did not fully appreciate the seriousness of the incident and the importance of pursuing justice in this case.
“The LADA’s failure to prosecute in this situation appears to be part of a concerning pattern of failing to hold deputies in the Los Angeles County jails accountable for their abuses,” wrote Kamlager-Dove, adding that federal authorities in the past have acted to remedy “the LADA’s failures.”
Said Kamlager-Dove: “No human being deserves to be abused, and when harm is inflicted by the government officials charged with caring for you, action must be taken.”
The video from a security camera was submitted as evidence in a federal lawsuit by Alex Rosas and the American Civil Liberties Union alleging mistreatment of inmates at the Los Angeles County jails. It was released to the public in 2023.
Sheriff’s officials at the time said the conduct depicted in the video occurred during a different administration and did not reflect changes made by Sheriff Robert Luna, who was still new to the job. The department turned over the incident to county prosecutors for review.
In a report released in May, prosecutors said the incident occurred while Deputies Jonathan Gutierrez and Jose Peralta were removing the inmate from his cell to escort him to the shower. The inmate’s name is redacted from the prosecutors’ report.
The deputies wrote in their own reports that the man was assigned to a cellblock for inmates with disciplinary problems and had a history of assaulting staff and others. The deputies’ reports said the inmate told them “don’t touch me” and may have threatened to headbutt Gutierrez.
According to both deputies, the inmate suddenly lunged forward, and the momentum took him into the wall opposite the entrance to his cell.
The inmate sustained two lacerations to his head. In an interview with investigators hours after the incident, the inmate said, “I’m walking out. The cops pulled me out, and I went forward, and he hit me right in the forehead … because the cop told me yesterday that once they get me out of the cell, they were going to get me.”
The inmate also told investigators he was a satanist who had telepathy and was on “psych medication.” He later declined a follow-up interview with investigators.
“I don’t believe in snitching or locking people up,” he said, according to the district attorney’s report.
Prosecutors reviewed the video and concluded that it appeared the inmate made sudden movements before deputies took hold of his arms. He also appeared to move toward the wall on his own before he was grabbed by Gutierrez, said the D.A.’s report.
“It cannot be determined from the video footage whether Gutierrez deliberately slammed (the inmate) into the wall or whether the contact was accidental, as a result of (the inmate) swinging and lunging his body toward the wall,” said the district attorney’s report explaining why prosecution was declined.
ACLU attorney Peter Eliasberg called the D.A.’s conclusion “preposterous.”
“I see zero evidence he propelled himself into the wall,” he said. “He was thrown against the wall.”
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