A former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy has pleaded guilty to assaulting a transgender man in a Whittier convenience store parking lot. The assault stemmed from the victim allegedly flipping off the deputy, who then pursued the man for 1.8 miles before attacking him. The deputy admitted to violently body slamming the victim and punching him multiple times.
A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who lives in Corona pleaded guilty on Friday, Jan. 17, to assaulting a transgender man in the parking lot of a Whittier convenience store who allegedly flipped off the lawman., was charged last month with one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law for the February 2023 confrontation.
In his plea agreement, Benza admitted that he was responding to a domestic violence call in Whittier when he saw the man drive by and extend his middle finger. Benza abandoned the domestic violence call and closely followed the man’s vehicle for 1.8 miles, intending to retaliate with force, according to the plea agreement.
Benza admitted in his plea agreement that he “violently body slammed” the man onto the ground, then punched his head and face multiple times, and pressed his “face into the pavement.”Later that day, as he began preparing an incident report, Benza apparently consulted with other deputies about whether he should include that he began pursuing the man because he had been flipped off. Three sergeants counseled Benza to omit that fact from his report, the plea agreement states.
Benza also falsely claimed that the man had bitten Benza’s hand with enough force to puncture the skin, and the deputy cited the man with criminal mayhem, prosecutors said.
ASSAULT POLICE BRUTALITY TRANSGENDER RIGHTS CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS FALSE POLICE REPORT
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