Two Alameda County sheriff’s deputies were caught on camera repeatedly hitting a suspected car thief with their fists and their batons.
After multiple strikes, they then arrested the alleged thief, Stanislav Petrov. Not long after the video surfaced web last year, officials say the sheriffs were charged with multiple felonies.
The video, which was uploaded on YouTube on November 13, 2015, by the San Francisco public defender’s office, is quite disturbing and contains obscenities, but it can be viewed here.
“Alameda County Sheriff officers, after chasing a driver across the bridge and then on foot, beat the man with nightsticks in San Francisco’s Mission District,” the description of the video reads.
“Note that the video surveillance system records in 10 second chunks, with a gap in between,” it added.
“So the beating was actually twice as long as what is shown.”
Petrov lays helplessly on the ground while being struck by the officers, and though he made several attempts to get up, it does not appear as if he is resisting.
Petrov suffered cuts to his head and a concussion during the beating and his hands were broken during the arrest, according to a statement by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon.
“Policing that violates our constitutional rights damages the reputation of every person that wears the uniform and it damages the public’s perception of those that are sworn to serve,” Gascon said.
“When officers take the law into their own hands, they undermine the moral authority of the entire criminal justice system.”
The deputies, Luis Santamaria and Paul Wieber, are 14- and 3-year veterans of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, according to the LA Times.
Santamaria and Wieber are both charged with assault under the color of authority, battery with serious bodily injury, and assault with a deadly weapon.
The deputies were placed on leave after the Nov. 12 arrest, reports LA Times.
They are expected to turn themselves in by May 11 and will likely be held without bail.
“It’s gratifying that the people that assaulted him have finally been charged,” said William Osterhoudt, an attorney representing Petrov in the case.
