Joseph Benza III, main officer involved in incident with Emmett Brock, pleaded guilty in federal court last week. At least eight deputies with the Los Angeles sheriff’s department have been dismissed for their roles in the arrest and beating of a transgender man in February 2023, the Los Angeles Times reports. An FBI investigation remains ongoing.
Deputy Joseph Benza III, the main officer involved in the incident with then 23-year-old Emmett Brock, pleaded guilty in federal court last week to one felony count of deprivation of rights under the color of law, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Benza and his terminated colleagues were alleged to have covered up details from the incident, including the reason for pulling Brock over on 10 February 2023, among other information. The department confirmed last week that others besides Benza had been removed but did not specify how many, according to the Times. Six unnamed sources from within the agency then told the Times that eight deputies, including several sergeants, had been fired.
In a statement announcing Benza’s guilty plea, the Los Angeles county sheriff Robert G Luna said that the deputy’s conduct “undermine[s] the integrity of our Department, the trust of our community, and the safety of those we are sworn to protect”.
“It is deeply troubling that a member of our Department, who has since been relieved of duty, violated the trust placed in them to uphold the law by abusing their authority,” Luna said. Benza is due back in court on 17 January. In a statement to the Guardian, his attorney, Tom Yu, said he will ask the court for probation.
