LA County Deputy Charged With Excessive Force in Lancaster Incident

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA (September 6, 2024) — A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy, Trevor James Kirk, 31, was charged Wednesday with using excessive force during a shoplifting investigation outside a WinCo Foods in Lancaster last year. The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that Kirk assaulted and pepper-sprayed a woman during the June 2023 incident.

Kirk, of Santa Clarita, is charged with deprivation of rights under color of law and is scheduled to be arraigned later this month in federal court. Prosecutors claim that Kirk used unnecessary force against the woman, identified as J.H., when he threw her to the ground and pepper-sprayed her without giving commands.

According to court documents, Kirk arrived at the scene with another deputy to investigate a possible robbery. While a man matching the suspect’s description was detained, J.H. recorded the deputies on her phone. Kirk allegedly attempted to grab the phone and then forcefully threw J.H. to the ground, later threatening to punch her and using pepper spray twice.

The indictment further accuses Kirk of submitting a misleading report to the LASD, falsely claiming J.H. had assaulted him. If convicted, the LA County deputy charged could face up to 10 years in federal prison.