Troubling new video shows the moment a transgender man was violently thrown to the floor and arrested by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy – during a traffic stop ostensibly over an illegal air freshener.
The incident occurred in a 7-Eleven parking lot on Mills Avenue in February, and left 23-year-old Emmett Brock with a concussion and in cuffs.
Moreover, it happened during the substitute teacher’s routine drive from work, and ultimately left him without a job. He still facing charges in relation to the incident.
He’s admitted to giving the deputy the middle finger before being pulled over – something the deputy made no mention of in the report.
Video from the 7-Eleven security camera shows the arrest in full – with Brock not resisting after Deputy Joseph Benza pulled into the lot directly behind him, blocking him in.
Scroll down for video:
Troubling new video shows the moment a transgender man was violently thrown to the floor and arrested by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy – during a traffic stop ostensibly over an illegal air freshener
The incident occurred in a 7-Eleven parking lot on Mills Avenue in February, and left 23-year-old Emmett Brock with a concussion and in cuffs
Audio and video of the incident captured by the deputy’s body-worn camera provided an even clearer picture, and shows the officer engaging in excessive force for what appears to be no reason.
‘Come here. I just stopped you,’ the deputy is heard telling Brock as he exits the vehicle, approaching the young teacher from behind.
‘No, you didn’t,’ Brock is heard replying as he turns toward the entrance of the store, apparently under the belief the deputy had followed him because of the gesture he had given him shortly before.
‘Yeah, I did,’ the deputy replies – before physically grabbing the apparent pedestrian and tackling him to the floor.
As this is happening, Brock appears frightened and does not once fight back.
‘Oh, my god. What the f**k is happening,’ he is heard saying in the harrowing bodycam footage – released last month but now bolstered by newly released security footage from the convenience store.
It shows the deputy seemingly escalate the encounter almost immediately upon exiting the vehicle, as Brock is seen standing in a non-menacing manner.
Brock has since stated that at this point he was unsure what he had done – and that the officer seen in the footage made no attempt to state why he was placing him under arrest.
For the next three minutes, Brock is seen struggling with the deputy – all while being held down to the pavement and punched repeatedly in the head.
‘You’re going to kill me,’ Brock is heard screaming as he writhes bloodied on the floor. ‘You’re going to f***ing kill me. Help! Help! Help! I’m not resisting!’
Moreover, it happened during the substitute teacher’s routine drive from work, and ultimately left him without a job. He still facing charges in relation to the incident
Brock’s lawyer, Thomas Beck, said he saw a deputy pulled ‘berating a woman of color,’ so he flipped the deputy off. That’s when Beck said the deputy started following Brock
At a point, the deputy is seen – and heard – ordering the shaken victim to put his arms behind his back.
However, Brock‘s arms were already pinned under his chest, with all of the officer’s weight pressed over him.
Speaking to the LA Times, Brock later said: ‘Even when I did get them out the way he wanted, he continued to punch me.
‘He just kept saying, “Stop resisting, stop resisting.” I didn’t understand why he was shouting that because I wasn’t resisting,’ he added.
Previously, the Sheriff’s Department cited how two witnesses forward after the incident to state they saw Brock exit his car and struggle with the deputy – with one in particular claiming they saw the young teacher throw and land a punch.
The newly released camera footage seems to discredit that claim – and does not show such an encounter.
Moreover, in an incident report penned by Benza after the incident, the deputy made no mention of being struck by the suspect.
However, he did write that Brock resisted arrest – and that the force was justified. He said the encounter occurred when Brock fled from his vehicle after being pulled over for an air freshener he had illegally mounted on his rearview mirror.
‘It appeared he was about to walk away from the car and myself,’ Benza, who as of Monday is still employed by the force, wrote as part of an 11-page filing surmising the encounter.
‘His rejection of my traffic detention and his apparent intent to distance himself from his vehicle further raise safety concerns,’ the deputy continued.
‘I know from my training and experience that those who possess contraband items inside vehicles commonly attempt to disassociate themselves from their vehicles when law enforcement is present.’
