Photo: Getty Images
A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who was convicted of violently arresting a Black woman has been handed down a significantly reduced sentence, per The Root.
Video showed Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Trevor Kirk pulling a Black woman by her shirt on the ground outside of the WinCo supermarket in Lancaster in 2023. Kirk pinned the woman to the ground with his knee while she was face down.
The arrest stemmed from police responding to reports of an alleged burglary. Authorities had matched a man to the description of the suspect, but targeted the woman as she was recording his arrest.
Video also shows Kirk pressing his knee into the woman's neck and pepper-spraying her twice for no apparent reason. The arrest left the woman with head trauma and injuries to her arms and wrists.
During a three-day trial, prosecutors accused Kirk of misleading his colleagues into thinking he was "in a fight" with the woman while video showed him escalating the incident. Kirk was found guilty of a felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law and faced up to 10 years in prison.
After a new U.S. attorney was sworn in, the government hired a third party to review the case and asked the court to allow them to offer Kirk a misdemeanor plea deal.
U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson granted the request Monday (June 2) and sentenced Kirk to just four months in prison.
“In my view, the jury verdict was fully supported and the case was not unfairly argued, as the government at some early point argued,” Judge Wilson said in a statement. “The job of a police officer is a very difficult one … but with those factors in mind, there is a responsibility to act appropriately.”
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