Latest news with #BakertoVegasChallengeCupRelay
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Yahoo
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.
CBS News
28-03-2025
- CBS News
LASD deputies boycott Baker to Vegas run to show support for deputy convicted of excessive force
Deputies from more than 20 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department stations are boycotting the annual Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay to show support for a fellow deputy convicted of excessive force. In February, a jury found Trevor Kirk guilty of a federal civil rights violation for using excessive force during an incident outside a Lancaster grocery store in June 2023. He was convicted after the LA County Sheriff's Department turned the investigation over to the FBI. Federal prosecutors said he assaulted and pepper-sprayed the woman, who allegedly matched a suspect description, after she started recording him and another officer with her phone while they were arresting a man. The two deputies had been responding to a possible robbery call. As Kirk awaits sentencing, facing up to 10 years in prison, some of his former colleagues in the department are speaking out in support — with deputies from more than 20 stations around LA County boycotting the annual 120-mile run. "Deputies have become reluctant in a dangerous situation because they are afraid of being the next Trevor Kirk," said Nick Wilson, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Professional Association , which provides legal aid and other resources to deputies. Kirk, a father of two, was relieved of duty without pay. He is scheduled to face sentencing on April 21. "This sends a very strong message to deputies who feel abandoned right now by their agency," Wilson said. Cesar Romero, president of LASPA, said he has been fielding calls from deputies since Kirk's conviction. He said they have been "voicing their frustration, their anger and their concern — how to go about doing about their job without having the concern of being prosecuted." They're boycotting the Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay, which brings together law enforcement each year, as a sign of protest. "What better way to do something that has never been done, certainly not by the sheriff's department," Romero said. Wilson said deputies cannot go on strike or just all call in sick so the boycott is one way to show support and solidarity. "It is the only thing that deputies can do within their control, within their power, that does not hurt their community," Wilson said. "So this is a very powerful example of standing in solidarity." Deputies joining the protest come from stations across a wide stretch of the region, from Lancaster to West Hollywood. Tom Yu, Kirk's attorney, said the LASD Training Bureau believed Kirk's use of force was reasonable and lawful. He has filed a motion to vacate the verdict while Kirk awaits sentencing. In a statement, the victim's attorney, Caree Harper, said Kirk was rightfully convicted and is "unworthy of protesting for." "He is not an ordinary deputy who was doing something he felt was the right thing to do," Harper said in the statement. "Kirk is a felon that threw my client down merely because she was filming an arrest that he was participating in." "He had no legal cause to violently throw her down without saying a word," the statement continues. "The hard-working women and men of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department should pick someone worthy of their protest." When federal prosecutors announced Kirk was being charged in September, LASD released a statement saying he had been relieved of duty pending the outcome of a criminal investigation. The agency's investigation was turned over to the FBI. "We have strict Department policies and procedures pertaining to the use of force and personnel are not immune from the law and accountability when they violate those standards," the department said in a statement. "We expect our personnel to make appropriate decisions that maintain the public's trust while serving our community with professionalism and respect." While announcing the guilty verdict in February, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California described the encounter which led to Kirk's conviction. In a statement , the U.S. Attorney's Office said Kirk approached the victim — identified only as "J.H." — after he saw her recording him on her phone while he and another officer were arresting a suspect in Lancaster. They were responding to a possible robbery and prosecutors said she also matched a suspect description. "Kirk then approached J.H. and, without giving any commands, attempted to grab her phone. J.H. turned away, at which point Kirk grabbed J.H. by her arm, hooked his left hand behind her neck, and violently threw her face first to the ground," the statement reads, adding that he later used his LASD radio "to give a misleading report that he was in a 'fight.'"
