A newly launched video has generated recent controversy over the 2021 arrest of a prime aide to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón throughout a visitors cease in Azusa.
Gascón’s chief of employees, Joseph Iniguez, and his then-fiance had been arrested late on the evening of Dec. 11, 2021, on suspicion of public intoxication and driving whereas intoxicated, respectively.
Each Iniguez and his then-fiance had been later launched from custody and fees had been by no means filed. In January 2022, Iniguez sued the division, claiming his civil rights had been violated throughout the cease.
The video, which was taken by Iniguez and obtained by The Instances from the town of Azusa by way of a public information request, depicts him arguing with police and claiming his then-fiance, who stood handcuffed a number of toes away, did nothing mistaken.
“You will have pulled over the mistaken particular person,” he tells the officers within the five-minute video. “This isn’t proper,” he provides later.
Police studies launched by the division in 2022 said that the officers pulled over Iniguez’s fiance — to whom he’s now married — after he allegedly made an unlawful U-turn and that each the driving force and passenger confirmed seen indicators of alcohol intoxication.
The Azusa Police Division settled Iniguez’s federal lawsuit final July for $10,000, stating on the time that it was cheaper than taking it to trial.
Each the police and Iniguez declare the video vindicates their respective interpretations of the occasions of that evening in Azusa.
In an announcement offered to The Instances, Azusa Police Capt. Robert Landeros stated the division performed an inner evaluation that discovered “the officers concerned acted in full accordance with the regulation and the insurance policies of the Azusa Police Division.”
Landeros added that the town and division “stand firmly behind our staff and the selections made throughout this arrest.”
Landeros advised KTLA-TV in an interview that he believes the video proves “our officers had been handled with disrespect” throughout the cease. “It’s not unusual. It’s disturbing when it includes a public official.”
Glenn Jonas, an legal professional for Iniguez, stated in an announcement that the video is proof that “Iniguez was 100%, for sure falsely arrested,” and that he “was lucid, calm, direct and in full management” throughout the cease.
“Mr. Iniguez in my e book is a hero,” Jonas stated in an e-mail, noting that the official donated the settlement cash to a nonprofit. “He took a false arrest and used it to guard the nice residents of Azusa who at the moment are due to him protected with Physique Worn Cameras.”
Gascón’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark.
