Five years after her son was beaten so badly by Los Angeles County sheriff\u2019s deputies that he needed more than 30 stitches and staples to his face and head, Vanessa Perez is still looking for answers. So are county officials tasked with holding the department accountable for misconduct.<\/p>\n
Despite a subpoena and an ongoing legal battle, obtaining a complete account of what happened to Vanessa\u2019s son Joseph Perez has proved impossible \u2014 at least so far. <\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s department has released a heavily redacted report outlining its version of what transpired in the San Gabriel Valley community of East Valinda on July 27, 2020.<\/p>\n
According to the report, deputies from the Industry Station stopped Joseph, 27, on suspicion of breaking into a car. He punched and kicked them multiple times, the document states. Three deputies injured their hands and a fourth broke his leg falling off a curb. Six deputies punched Joseph and deployed various holds and takedowns before he was arrested and charged with five counts of resisting an executive officer, court records show.<\/p>\n
But entire pages of the department\u2019s \u201cuse of force\u201d report are blacked out, leaving Vanessa and members of the Civilian Oversight Commission wondering what details are being kept secret. <\/p>\n
County oversight officials issued three subpoenas in February for cases under scrutiny, including one seeking an unredacted copy of the Perez file. The County Counsel\u2019s Office has resisted, arguing the files should remain confidential, and the L.A. County Sheriff\u2019s Department has declined to hand them over.<\/p>\n
Amid the subpoena standoff, Vanessa, 43, shows up to speak at nearly every monthly meeting of the oversight commission in a black T-shirt with a picture of her son\u2019s bloodied face.<\/p>\n
\u201cSurviving an arrest shouldn\u2019t look like Joseph. And it shouldn\u2019t look like 121 punches either. That\u2019s what they admitted to,\u201c she told The Times, referring to an unofficial tally she made based on the deputies\u2019 statements in the redacted document.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Vanessa Perez holds a photograph of her son, Joseph Perez, taken after he was beaten by Los Angeles County sheriff\u2019s deputies in July 2020.<\/p>\n
(Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
The beating was so severe, she said, it left her son struggling to carry on a conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not able to do that anymore,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just hard for him to socialize, period, with the constant fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
A month after the oversight commission\u2018s subpoena, L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna responded by<\/a> filing a lawsuit, asking a court to determine whether his department must comply. Luna said at the time that the County Counsel\u2019s Office had advised the department that releasing the documents \u201cviolates the law.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to The Times, the sheriff\u2019s department said it is \u201ctaking deliberate steps to resolve the dispute and ensure its actions align with both the law and the principles of transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n Last month, the County Counsel\u2019s Office said in a statement that it \u201chas fully supported\u201d the commission \u201cin its efforts to seek the information it needs to play a powerful oversight role on behalf of LA County citizens. This includes assisting with a declaratory relief action that will hopefully bring judicial clarity to the commission\u2019s ability to obtain the information it seeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Joseph maintains he was not the aggressor in the July 2020 incident. His mother said he was in the middle of a \u201cmental health episode.\u201d <\/p>\n Court records show Joseph has been jailed multiple times since on a range of charges, including methamphetamine possession and damaging a vehicle. In August 2022, he pleaded no contest to one of the five charges from the beating incident and was sentenced to 32 months in state prison.<\/p>\n He is currently incarcerated at Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic after violating his probation from a separate case in which he was convicted of resisting two West Covina police officers.<\/p>\n He has struggled with addiction and been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression and psychosis, according to his mother.<\/p>\n Anne Golden, Joseph\u2019s public defender, said in a recent court hearing that he suffers from impaired executive functioning due to a traumatic brain injury inflicted by the deputies.<\/p>\n In a brief phone call last month from jail, Joseph told The Times he believes the full report about what happened to him should be released to \u201cshow that I was in the right.\u201d <\/p>\n Vanessa Perez holds a photo of her and her son, Joseph Perez. <\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re lying about a lot of stuff with my case,\u201d he said. \u201cThey lied about how it went down; they\u2019re saying I\u2019m the aggressor when I wasn\u2019t. The reality is they beat me up \u2014 they left me for dead.\u201d<\/p>\n The sheriff\u2019s department said the deputies involved in the incident declined to comment. <\/p>\n The department said in a statement that every use of force \u201cincident is thoroughly reviewed to evaluate if policies and procedures were followed,\u201d adding that in \u201cthis incident, the use of force … was determined to be within policy.\u201d<\/p>\n Oversight officials seeking records related to Joseph\u2019s case and others have been stymied at every turn, according to Loyola Law School professor Sean Kennedy. Kennedy resigned from the commission<\/a> in February following a dispute with county lawyers over another matter.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have effective and meaningful civilian oversight, it\u2019s necessary for the commission to be able to review confidential documents about police misconduct and use of force,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cWithout that, this is all just oversight theater.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n