Two deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department lied to cover up using excessive force after assaulting a suspect while on duty, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon charged Deputies Woodrow Kim and Jonathan Miramontes with lying on their police reports about the incident.
Prosecutors said Kim used the driver’s side door of his patrol car to knock the suspect to the ground in September 2018. The two deputies had pursued a BMW in East L.A. after responding to a report the driver had shown a firearm to passengers in another vehicle.
“Peace officers must do their job lawfully and truthfully,” the district attorney said in a statement. “There is no place in law enforcement for officers who use illegal force and then lie to cover up their crime or the crime of another officer.”
The sheriff’s department previously investigated Kim over a separate incident in 2011 regarding his alleged use of force on an inmate, the Times reported. However, prosecutors declined to charge him.
The two deputies must appear in court Thursday for an arraignment hearing.
