A video of an altercation between a driver and a cop in Los Angeles has garnered attention online after the officer punched the man in question.
As ABC 7 Eyewitness News reports, the video shows a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy lunge into the driver's vehicle during a traffic stop. When the man doesn't step out of the car, the officer continues to try to open the car door until he punches the man multiple times.
The driver in the clip is Jesus Medina, who was identified by his brother Omar Medina. In the seven-minute video he posted to Instagram on Tuesday, the situation gets increasingly intense. "He was already trying to open the door before the video started, just over a simple traffic ticket," said Omar.
In the video, Jesus Medina asks, "Did you ask me to step out the car?" when the officer continues to try to open the door.
"I was going to," the deputy replies.
"You still haven’t asked me for my license, registration, insurance, nothing," Jesus added. "I’m going to put the windows up until your backup comes." After Medina said this, the deputy said he would "break" the window if he did that.
In response to the situation, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he has seen the video and there will be an investigation. "I have one concern, and I have a lot of questions," Villanueva said. "The one concern I have is for the safety of the female deputy, who was kicked in the stomach by one of the suspects. She fell to the ground. She broke her arm in three places."
Jesus Medina has been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon against a poilice officer, resisting arrest, and driving without a license. While the clip does not show him kick the female police officer, Villanueva says Medina did. "We're doing a thorough investigation from the criminal side. We're doing also one in terms of policy, and the application of force and will," the sheriff said. "That process is going to take a while to resolve, but investigations are active and ongoing."
