A 3rd high-ranking Los Angeles County sheriff’s official has filed a authorized declare contradicting Sheriff Villanueva’s account of how he dealt with an incident by which a deputy kneeled on the top of a handcuffed inmate for 3 minutes.
Former Chief LaJuana Haselrig mentioned within the submitting, which is a precursor to a lawsuit, that she gave a DVD containing a video of the incident to Asst. Sheriff Robin Limon and Limon informed her she was “heading instantly from there to Villanueva’s workplace to indicate him the video.”
Limon, who was an in depth advisor to Villanueva till he demoted her over the incident, filed her personal declare final week alleging she confirmed the video to Villanueva and two different folks 5 days after the incident occurred.
These accounts are at odds with the one supplied by Villanueva, who has claimed that he discovered of the March 2021 incident eight months after it occurred and promptly ordered an investigation into it.
The 2 different individuals who Limon mentioned seen the recording alongside the sheriff are Undersheriff Tim Murakami and Villanueva’s aide, Anthony Blanchard. Murakami mentioned at a information convention final week that the allegation that he noticed the video in March 2021 was false. Blanchard mentioned that “the video was by no means seen in March the way in which it was offered.”
Villanueva and Murakami didn't instantly reply to a request for remark. The sheriff’s chief of workers mentioned that they had not but seen the declare.
After The Occasions first reported on the violent detention and an effort by sheriff’s officers to maintain it secret in March, Undersheriff Tim Murakami visited Haselrig’s house whereas she was out on medical depart and compelled her to retire, her declare mentioned. Limon, in the meantime, was demoted a number of ranks.
Haselrig’s declare additionally alleges that Villanueva focused her as a result of she is Black. She alleged within the submitting that she as soon as informed the sheriff that she hoped there can be alternatives for certified Black workers to advertise and that he replied: “We've sufficient of you.”
She additionally alleges that Villanueva threatened a number of occasions to “get” whistleblowers for sharing details about misconduct. Haselrig’s declare mentioned she suggested him that it’s unlawful to retaliate towards whistleblowers.
The kneeling incident occurred on the morning of March 10, 2021, when deputies had been conducting routine searches of inmates earlier than their courtroom appearances on the San Fernando Courthouse.
Safety video obtained by The Occasions exhibits Deputy Douglas Johnson strolling intently behind inmate Enzo Escalante by a hallway earlier than ushering him towards a wall.
Escalante rotated and punched Johnson within the face a number of occasions. Johnson and different deputies then took Escalante to the bottom, positioning him facedown. After he was handcuffed, Johnson saved his knee on Escalante’s head for 3 minutes.
Haselrig is the fourth individual to have initiated a lawsuit over the incident. Together with Limon, Allen Castellano — a commander who was important of efforts by the division to maintain the incident underneath wraps — accused Villanueva in a authorized declare of obstructing justice and retaliating towards those that blew the whistle. The inmate whose head was kneeled on additionally filed a civil rights lawsuit.
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