LA County Deputy Trevor Kirk sentenced to 4 months in prison for excessive force
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Trevor Kirk was sentenced to four months in prison Monday for an excessive force conviction involving an unarmed woman outside a Lancaster supermarket in 2023.
In February, a federal jury found Kirk, 32, guilty of deprivation of rights under color of law for assaulting and pepper-spraying the woman. He had faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson dismissed the felony allegation in the indictment, leaving only a misdemeanor charge. Kirk had been offered a misdemeanor plea deal before trial, that he didn't accept.
"The Government isn't moving to dismiss the entire indictment—only the part that made the offense a felony. The jury still found that Defendant willfully used unreasonable force, which supports a misdemeanor conviction …," as written in Judge Wilson's seven-page order. Kirk's attorney, Tom Yu, has described his client as a "hero, not a criminal."
Kirk and another deputy responded to a robbery call at WinCo Foods in Lancaster on June 24, 2023, where two customers were reportedly "assaulting loss-prevention employees."
A man who matched the suspect's description was detained, and while the other deputy handcuffed the man, Kirk turned his attention to a woman who matched the other suspect description. The unarmed woman was recording the arrest with her cell phone and told the deputies the video was being live-streamed and that they were legally obligated to tell the man why he was being detained.
Kirk walked up to the woman without giving any commands and tried to take her phone. When she started to turn away, he threw her to the ground, threatened to punch her, and pepper-sprayed her face twice. Kirk pressed his knew into the woman's neck, and she said that she couldn't breathe.
Prosecutors said while he was on top of the woman he used his LASD radio to give a misleading report that he was in a "fight." The victim suffered blunt-force head trauma and injuries to her head, arms and wrist.
Multiple videos showed the assault, with Sheriff Robert Luna describing the incident as "disturbing."
In March, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Professional Association said the prosecution of Kirk was "wrongful and politically charged" and his actions, as seen on body-worn camera video, were "lawful, restrained, and aligned with training."
"I still believe that my client used reasonable force and look forward to defending him in this criminal case," Yu said earlier.
At the time charges were filed last year, the sheriff's department said Kirk was relieved of duty pending the outcome of the case
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