A former California teacher has filed a claim for at least $10,000 in damages against Los Angeles County after a sheriff’s deputy threw him to the ground and repeatedly punched him in the head after a traffic stop. The incident, which took place in February, was caught on video.
Emmett Brock, who is transgender, also alleged that when he was booked at a local jail, the employees asked to see his genitals.
Brock, 24, was initially booked on three felony charges of mayhem, resisting arrest and obstruction, along with a misdemeanor charge of failure to obey a police officer. He lost his teaching job three days later due to the pending felony charges and has been unemployed since. Prosecutors later reduced the charges to two misdemeanors of resisting arrest and battery on an officer, according to arrest records.
All of the charges were ultimately dismissed due to insufficient evidence during a hearing on Aug. 10, according to Venusse D. Navid, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Brock said he hopes the claim for damages, which his lawyer, Tom Beck, filed against the County of Los Angeles last month, will cover some of his lost wages. He said he also plans to file a lawsuit against the sheriff’s department, in part because Deputy Joseph Benza, who arrested him, has not faced disciplinary action.
“I would really hope that the deputy is dismissed and punitive action is taken,” Brock said. “I just can’t feel like this is acceptable behavior on the deputy’s part — to assault another person over hurt feelings.”
Brock told NBC News last month that he was on his way home from his teaching job in February when he passed a deputy having what appeared to be a heated conversation with a woman on the side of the road. Brock said he gave the deputy the middle finger as he drove by, and he alleged the deputy then started to follow him in a patrol car without turning on the vehicle’s sirens or lights.
Brock said he called 911 to ask if he was being pulled over, and the operator said he was not if the car’s lights and sirens weren’t on. Brock pulled into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven, and Benza pulled his patrol vehicle behind Brock’s car, according to video from the store’s security cameras, which Brock’s attorney shared with NBC News. The video shows that Benza’s lights and sirens were not on when he pulled into the 7-Eleven.
As Brock exited his car, Benza approached him and said, “I stopped you,” according to the video, and then Brock can be heard saying, “No, you didn’t,” with knowledge of his 911 call. Benza then grabbed Brock, threw him to the ground and then held Brock for three minutes while repeatedly punching him in the head, video shows.
“You’re going to kill me,” Brock is heard yelling. “You’re going to f---ing kill me. Help! Help! Help! I’m not resisting!”
Benza said he pulled Brock over because an object hanging from his rearview mirror was obstructing his forward view, in violation of a California code, according to an arrest report Benza wrote that Beck provided to NBC News.
Benza said that when Brock got out of his car, it appeared he was going to walk away. Brock’s “rejection of my traffic detention and his apparent intent to distance himself from his vehicle further raised safety concerns,” the deputy wrote.
After throwing Brock to the ground, Benza said Brock “continuously tried to bite him” and that he feared Brock would punch him, so he punched Brock “approximately eight times in rapid succession.”
Brock denied Benza’s allegation that he tried to bite him, and Beck, Brock’s attorney, noted that copies of Benza’s urgent care evaluation included in the arrest report show the physician’s assistant did not find evidence of any bite marks.
Benza did not return a request for comment.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it is aware of Brock’s claim for damages.
“The Department is investigating the allegations brought forth by Mr. Brock,” the department said in an emailed statement. “All use of force incidents are unfortunate and we thoroughly review each one to evaluate if personnel followed appropriate protocol and training standards.”
After the February incident, Brock was booked at the Norwalk Sheriff’s Station, which is part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, where he told staff he is transgender. He said all of his identification documents are updated to say male, but staff still didn’t know which holding cell to place him in. He said they asked him questions like, “Do you have a penis?” and then a female employee brought him to a bathroom so she could see his genitals.
Brock’s claim for damages alleges that Benza deprived him of his constitutional rights, illegally detained and assaulted him, among other allegations, and that the actions of employees at the Norwalk Sheriff’s Station invaded his privacy and discriminated against him on the basis of his gender identity.
Beck said the lawsuit he plans to file will sue for additional damages.
“He’s got the right to recover damages for his obvious emotional and physical injuries,” Beck said, adding that neither the claim for damages nor a lawsuit could result in punitive action against Benza. “None of the things that would be most satisfactory to myself and to Emmett — that is, to have some accountability against this deputy — and none of that’s achievable.”
Brock said he hopes Sheriff Robert Luna, who has promised reform within the department, will remove Benza from his position.
“It just doesn’t seem like that’s someone that has the capacity to be working with the public if they have that explosive and dangerous of a temper,” he said.
Brock added that he’s working on getting his substitute teacher permit renewed so he can get his job back.
“It definitely is a weight off my shoulders, to not feel like this is about to come down on me at any moment, and it definitely feels like my life can finally start again,” Brock said. “There’s still this, ‘Life’s still not normal yet,’ but I think once I have my job back everything will finally feel at least somewhat normal for the first time in six months.”
