After a Jury Found an LA Cop Guilty of a Felony For His Attack on a Black Woman Fed Prosecutor Dropped the Felony Charge and Court Rewarded Cop w/a 4 Month Sentence - 3 Prosecutors Resign in Protest

From [HERE] and [HERE] Federal prosecutors Tuesday moved to dismiss the indictment and vacate the judgment in the case of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy whose original felony conviction for assaulting and pepper-spraying a Black woman was reduced to a misdemeanor by a judge who then sentenced him to four months behind bars.

The controversial plea agreement triggered the resignation of multiple federal prosecutors, according to reporting by the Los Angeles Times.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eli A. Alcaraz and Brian R. Faerstein, along with section chief Cassie Palmer, resigned in protest after the new U.S. Attorney approved a post-trial plea deal for Deputy Trevor Kirk. Kirk had been found guilty of a felony for assaulting and pepper-spraying a woman outside a Lancaster WinCo supermarket in 2023. [MORE]

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed its unopposed motion in Los Angeles federal court for a judge’s order to dismiss the indictment, vacate the judgment and exonerate Trevor Kirk’s bond.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson last month granted in part the government’s motion to dismiss the allegations in Kirk’s indictment that raised his conviction from a misdemeanor to a felony. While the court tossed the felony allegations, it did not strike any portion of the jury verdict, which found Kirk guilty of using unreasonable force.

However, Wilson did reject a portion of the post-conviction plea deal that stipulated a sentence of one year probation for the misdemeanor conviction.

Kirk, 32, of Santa Clarita was convicted in federal court in February of one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law for the force used in June 2023 during an encounter with a woman during a shoplifting investigation outside a supermarket in Lancaster.

At the beginning of May, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed an unusual post-conviction plea and sentencing agreement in which Kirk would plead guilty to a misdemeanor and admit under oath that he “used unnecessary force.”

The plea deal — which required Wilson’s approval — overturned the jury’s felony verdict and reduced Kirk’s possible prison exposure of 10 years to one year.

Following the filing of the post-conviction plea agreement, four federal prosecutors withdrew from the case.

Kirk’s attorney, Tom Yu, has described his client as a “hero, not a criminal.”

Now, the U.S. Attorney’s Office wants to drop the entire case.

“We thought Trump’s new U.S. Attorney’s Office could not stoop any lower, but it seems like Mr. Essayli and Mr. Keenan’s insistence on being Trevor Kirk’s BEST defense attorney has no limits,”  civil rights attorney Caree Harper wrote in an email to City News Service, referring to Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Keenan, one of the prosecutors in the case.

In March, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Professional Association said the initial prosecution of Kirk was “wrongful and politically charged” and his actions, as seen on body-worn camera video, were “lawful, restrained, and aligned with training.”

Association President Cesar Romero said the union “stands unwaveringly” with Kirk.

“This isn’t just about one deputy — it’s an assault on every law enforcement officer who puts their life on the line daily,” Romero said in a statement. “We will not back down. Trevor has our full support, and we will fight alongside him and his loved ones until justice is restored.”

Evidence showed Kirk and another deputy were responding on June 24, 2023, to a possible robbery at WinCo Foods by a man and a woman. According to court papers, Kirk and his fellow deputy arrived at the scene, handcuffed a man matching the suspect’s description and detained him, while a woman fitting the description of the second suspect recorded the deputies with her phone.

The indictment states that Kirk then approached the woman — identified as Jacy Houseton — and attempted to grab her phone without issuing any commands. The woman turned away, prompting Kirk to grab her arm, hook his left hand behind her neck and forcefully throw her to the ground, prosecutors said.

While on the ground, Kirk yelled at Houseton to “get on the ground,” and she told him the video had already been posted on YouTube, according to the indictment.

Federal prosecutors initially said Kirk then placed his knee on the woman’s shoulder, and when she yelled for him to stop and used an expletive, he pulled his right arm back with a clenched fist and threatened to punch her in the face.

The indictment says Kirk used his department radio to call in a misleading report that he was in a fight.

Court papers further state that shortly thereafter, without giving any additional commands to Houseton, Kirk sprayed her twice in the face with pepper spray. The woman received medical attention for the spray and injuries received from being thrown to the ground, evidence shows.

The jury heard that Kirk then drafted and submitted a misleading report to the sheriff’s department in which he portrayed Houseton as a threat to his physical safety, claiming that the woman assaulted him, attempted to hit him and took a “fighting” stance.

At the time charges were filed last year, the sheriff’s department said Kirk was relieved of duty pending the outcome of the case.

Now, the U.S. Attorney’s Office wants to drop the entire case.

“We thought Trump’s new U.S. Attorney’s Office could not stoop any lower, but it seems like Mr. Essayli and Mr. Keenan’s insistence on being Trevor Kirk’s BEST defense attorney has no limits,”  civil rights attorney Caree Harper wrote in an email to City News Service, referring to Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Keenan, one of the prosecutors in the case.

In March, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Professional Association said the initial prosecution of Kirk was “wrongful and politically charged” and his actions, as seen on body-worn camera video, were “lawful, restrained, and aligned with training.”

Association President Cesar Romero said the union “stands unwaveringly” with Kirk.

“This isn’t just about one deputy — it’s an assault on every law enforcement officer who puts their life on the line daily,” Romero said in a statement. “We will not back down. Trevor has our full support, and we will fight alongside him and his loved ones until justice is restored.”

Evidence showed Kirk and another deputy were responding on June 24, 2023, to a possible robbery at WinCo Foods by a man and a woman. According to court papers, Kirk and his fellow deputy arrived at the scene, handcuffed a man matching the suspect’s description and detained him, while a woman fitting the description of the second suspect recorded the deputies with her phone.

The indictment states that Kirk then approached the woman — identified as Jacy Houseton — and attempted to grab her phone without issuing any commands. The woman turned away, prompting Kirk to grab her arm, hook his left hand behind her neck and forcefully throw her to the ground, prosecutors said.

While on the ground, Kirk yelled at Houseton to “get on the ground,” and she told him the video had already been posted on YouTube, according to the indictment.

Federal prosecutors initially said Kirk then placed his knee on the woman’s shoulder, and when she yelled for him to stop and used an expletive, he pulled his right arm back with a clenched fist and threatened to punch her in the face.

The indictment says Kirk used his department radio to call in a misleading report that he was in a fight.

Court papers further state that shortly thereafter, without giving any additional commands to Houseton, Kirk sprayed her twice in the face with pepper spray. The woman received medical attention for the spray and injuries received from being thrown to the ground, evidence shows.

The jury heard that Kirk then drafted and submitted a misleading report to the sheriff’s department in which he portrayed Houseton as a threat to his physical safety, claiming that the woman assaulted him, attempted to hit him and took a “fighting” stance.

At the time charges were filed last year, the sheriff’s department said Kirk was relieved of duty pending the outcome of the case.