LASD deputies boycotting 'Baker to Vegas' relay after fellow deputy's excessive force conviction
The Brief
Hundreds of LASD deputies are boycotting a massive law enforcement event this weekend to show support for a fellow deputy they say was "wrongfully convicted."
Trevor Kirk was found guilty of federal civil rights violations after he threw a woman to the ground and pepper sprayed her while on top of her.
The Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay takes place on April 5 and 6.
LOS ANGELES - Hundreds of Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies are boycotting the annual "Baker to Vegas" Challenge Cup Relay this weekend, after one of their fellow deputies was convicted of using excessive force.
The backstory
LASD deputy Trevor James Kirk was found guilty in February of using excessive force on a woman during a robbery investigation at a WinCo grocery store in Lancaster in 2023.
On June 23, 2023, deputies, including Kirk, were called out to the store after store employees reported two people had robbed the store. When they got there, deputies detained a man. Another woman, identified as Jacy Hueston, who the LASD said matched the description of one of the alleged suspects, was filming the interaction on her phone.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: California deputy who pepper sprayed, slammed woman to ground outside grocery store facing charges
Body camera video showed Kirk trying to grab the phone out of Hueston's hands before slamming her to the ground and pepper spraying her while he was on top of her.
Kirk was charged in September 2024 with excessive force and violating Hueston's civil rights.
A jury also found that while Kirk was on top of the woman, he used his radio to "give a misleading report that he was in a 'fight'" with her.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Lawsuit announced in LASD use of force incident outside Lancaster Winco
What they're saying
"He tried to kill me," Jacy Hueston said of Kirk. "And for what? Because I was taking a picture of possibly some misconduct?"
On Friday, hundreds of deputies announced they would be boycotting this weekend's "Baker to Vegas" Challenge Cup Relay, one of the largest law enforcement events in the country, which attracts officers from across the world. The deputies say the boycott is meant to show support for Kirk, saying he was "wrongfully convicted," and that the lawsuit was a "politically motivated attack on law enforcement."
"It's a historic stand and a line in the sand," said Cesar Romero, President of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Professional Association. Because this isn't just about Trevor. It's about every deputy who wears the badge."
Romero said that more than 20 LASD stations, approximately half the force, would be boycotting the relay.
What's next
Kirk will be sentenced on April 21. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
The Source
Information in this story is from a press release issued by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Professional Association and a press conference held by the LASPA on April 4, 2025; the U.S. Department of Justice; and previous FOX 11 reports.
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