'It's disturbing': Sheriff Luna promises thorough investigation into Lancaster use of force incident

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna on Wednesday promised that there would be a thorough investigation into a use of force incident that has garnered considerable attention in recent days, where a deputy is caught on camera slamming a woman to the ground and pepper-spraying her in the face outside of a grocery store in Lancaster. 

"I want to make it clear to all of our community that this investigation is to objectively — and I do repeat objectively — determine if the force used was reasonable, if it was necessary, if it was appropriate and proportionate to the level of actions that were described," Sheriff Luna said during a press conference. 

He ensured that an internal affairs investigation has already been initiated and that both of the deputies have been removed from the field and are pending further review after the investigation concludes. 

Though Luna declined to offer his own opinion on whether the deputy's actions appeared to be within LASD policy, he did say that the video was "disturbing."

The cellphone video, which was taken on June 24 outside of a WinCo store located in the 700 block of W. Avenue K-4, first began to circulate on social media late Monday evening. Hours later, the sheriff's department released the deputy-worn body camera footage of the incident. 

During the press conference, Sheriff Luna said that deputies were sent to the store after receiving a call that two customers "were assaulting loss-prevention employees."

One of those two customers, a man, was detained at the scene by deputies for attempt of petty theft and interfering with business. 

As he is being taken into custody by one of the two deputies, the second approaches a woman standing nearby who appears to be using her cell phone to record the arrest. The deputy grabs the woman and can be seen forcibly throwing her onto the ground before handcuffing her, using pepper spray during the process. 

"Deputies are trained to take suspects who resist to the ground in order to gain compliance and to safely handcuff the suspect. Once on the ground, Ms. Houseton remained uncooperative and resisted," said Tom Yu, the attorney representing the deputy who threw the woman to the ground.

Luna says that she was arrested for assaulting an officer and for battery, after assaulting loss prevention personnel inside the market, prior to the altercation with the deputies. 

The woman was hospitalized after the incident, complaining of pain in her eyes from the pepper spray and abrasions to her arms. 

The video has been met with public backlash, as activists decry the behavior displayed by the deputies. 

Luna said that upon learning of the altercation on Friday, he reached out to elected officials and community leaders in the area. 

"What we've directed our command staff to do is to organize a meeting with community stakeholders later on this week," Luna said at the press conference. "Those phone calls have already started. We're still trying to identify a location and work with others to put this but will give the community an opportunity and our community leaders out there to bring forward their concerns regarding this incident. Our full intent is to work with the community and based on some of the community outcry that I've heard, there has been some challenges out in that area."

The relationship between the two being arrested remains unclear, though Luna said that the pair went to the store together and that they were both involved in the same confrontation with store security prior to the deputys' involvement. 

Neither the identities of the deputies, nor of those arrested have been released to the public. 

On top of the investigation by LASD, different inquiries are expected from the Los Angeles County Inspector General's Office and the Department of Justice. 

"We do take the use of force — any use of force that occurs within our agency — very seriously," Luna said before asking for the community's patience as they conduct the thorough and objective investigation.

Protestors gathered outside of the Winco on Wednesday, calling for the immediate firing of the deputies involved. After some time, the group moved inside of the store, where the protests continued. 

In 2015, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into the Sheriff's Department after receiving alleged civil rights violations in Lancaster and Palmdale. Investigators uncovered "patterns of excessive use of force, biased policing practices, including housing discrimination, and unlawful searches and seizures." Specifically, the DOJ found that deputies were violating the Fourth and 14th Amendments in certain pedestrian and vehicle stops, that seemed to be racially motivated. Additionally, federal authorities found that deputies employed a pattern of an unreasonable amount of force.

Finally, the DOJ investigation revealed deputies tried to pressure Black residents that held Section 8 vouchers out of the Antelope Valley through a "pattern of intimidation and harassment."

After the findings were released, the department agreed to implement changes in the area, which included a $700,000 fund to compensate residents harmed by LASD and sweeping reform such as mass retraining as well as a federal monitor that oversees the area.