A federal jury convicted a Santa Clarita man of using excessive force for pepper-spraying a woman while he was working as a Lancaster sheriff’s deputy in June 2023.
After a three-day trial, Trevor James Kirk, 32, of Santa Clarita, was found guilty Thursday of one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law.
Kirk and another deputy responded to a possible robbery at a WinCo Foods supermarket and handcuffed a man matching the description of the male suspect, according to the evidence presented during the trial.
While this was happening, a woman matching the description of the female suspect began recording the deputies on her cellphone, according to the Department of Justice news release.
While recording, the woman, identified in the DOJ release as “J.H.,” told Kirk that he had a legal obligation to inform the man of the basis for his detention and that she was broadcasting his actions on social media, the statement added.
“Kirk then approached J.H. and, without giving any commands, attempted to grab her phone. J.H. turned away, at which point Kirk grabbed J.H. by her arm, hooked his left hand behind her neck, and violently threw her face first to the ground,” according to Friday’s statement.
Kirk yelled at J.H. to “get on the ground,” while she was on the ground, according to federal officials, and she told him, “It’s already on YouTube Live.”
The DOJ release states Kirk then threatened the woman on the ground with a clenched fist and threatened to punch her and then gave “a misleading report that he was in a ‘fight,’” per the release.
Without any further command, the deputy then pepper-sprayed her, according to the statement announcing Kirk’s conviction. The victim was treated for blunt-force head trauma and injuries to her head, arms, and wrist.
The FBI investigated the case.
Recent data from the Sheriff’s Department indicates over the past five years, Lancaster Sheriff’s Station deputies have had nearly 88% more documented use-of-force incidents (1,776) than the second-highest total, Palmdale (945). The SCV Station reported 629 over the same period.
“All law enforcement personnel who take an oath to protect and serve the American people must be held to a higher standard,” Akil Davis, former assistant director in charge of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, said in a September news release announcing the indictment. “The FBI remains committed to holding those who do not meet this standard accountable for their actions.”
