The lawsuit from a Santa Clarita man who claimed he was beaten by off-duty deputies, and then Sheriff’s Department officials tried to cover it up, filed new claims Friday, including new accusations against the former captain of the SCV station.
The Sheriff’s Department denied any wrongdoing in its initial response to the lawsuit that was dismissed two weeks ago.
An amended complaint now alleges an unnamed city of Santa Clarita official and other “inner circles of government and law enforcement” were aware of or have benefitted from alleged coverups.
The Sheriff’s Department issued a statement Tuesday saying former SCV Sheriff’s Station Capt. Justin Diez, now a commander in the LASD, was not under any disciplinary action and that the agency “takes these allegations seriously.”
Parker Seitz, the son of a prominent business owner in the city of Santa Clarita, claims in the lawsuit that he was beaten outside The Break Room in Newhall on the day before Thanksgiving in 2024, and that SCV Sheriff’s Station officials immediately made attempts to make it go away.
Judge R. Gary Klausner dismissed all claims but offered Seitz and his counsel two weeks to amend the claims, which they did.
First complaint
Seitz filed a federal lawsuit in September that stated he was beaten by two deputies and a third unnamed person who is not a deputy.
The lawsuit also stated that a deputy visited Seitz’s friends at the hospital and made false claims about the incident. The lawsuit stated those claims were reiterated by Diez in a phone call to Seitz’s father right after the incident, which the complaint characterized as an attempted “coverup.”
In the department’s response, LASD attorneys stated there was no attempt to “silence” Seitz, who went on a “media campaign” for his lawsuit claims.
Diez’s attorney told Seitz’s counsel that the claims “are devoid of any merit” in a letter, which also described Seitz as the aggressor in the incident.
In his ruling, Klausner described the visit as a “routine law enforcement interaction,” and did not present evidence of animus. The ruling also stated “further factual allegations are needed to support such a conclusory statement,” referring to Seitz’s allegation of “harassment, intimidation and retaliation.” Klausner also did not find that Diez was acting as the lone “decision-maker” with “final authority,” which is necessary for a coverup claim.
However, the deficiencies in the lawsuit were not beyond a legal cure, the judge noted.
Amended complaint
Friday’s filing identifies the third, previously unnamed person who was alleged to be involved in the fight as Austin Murillo.
After claims from LASD attorneys that Seitz was the aggressor and was known to cause problems in the bar, the new complaint recasts the scene leading up to Seitz’s beating that evening.
Seitz’s first lawsuit stated that he was “harassed” by Murillo, as well as two off-duty deputies, Randy Austin and Nicholas Hernandez, while inside the Break Room that evening.
The conflict erupted after closing time around 1:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving, according to the amended complaint.
“While near the sidewalk by the Break Room’s parking area, Seitz began conversing with Austin, Hernandez and Murillo and even shook hands with Murillo. Hernandez then removed Seitz’s sunglasses from the back of his head. Seitz reclaimed the sunglasses, but Hernandez removed them again in an apparent effort to instigate conflict. Seitz again reclaimed his property from Hernandez and pushed Hernandez back to protect his personal space and prevent further taking of his sunglasses. Hernandez then removed Seitz’s sunglasses a third time and an altercation broke out. Seitz then attempted to push Hernandez away but Hernandez and Murillo held onto Seitz, causing all three to end up in the street. Austin followed and struck Seitz from behind with a punch, which caused Seitz, Hernandez and Murillo to fall in the street.”
A “swarm” of patrons then broke up the fight, according to the complaint. Austin, Hernandez and Murillo then “took off” across the street to the Old Town Newhall Library with Seitz’s sunglasses. The lawsuit states that Break Room security staff saw the incident and then informed Seitz that the three men had his sunglasses and “he should retrieve them himself.”
“Seitz subsequently crossed the street minutes later while security guard defendants stood and watched. Then, Austin, suddenly and without any justification, rushed at Seitz and punched him, knocking him to the ground, and then Austin, Hernandez and Murillo stomped on Seitz and continued to beat and stomp on him while he was on the ground,” the complaint alleges. “This altercation was eventually broken up through the intervention of Caden Weible and Garrett Hixon, who was punched himself and sustained lacerations above his eye.”
New coverup claims
Klausner’s ruling found deficiencies in the first complaint with a lack of direct evidence that the statements by Diez, who was promoted to commander after the incident, were an attempt to “chill” or silence free speech.
The amended lawsuit makes several serious allegations against Diez and mentions an unnamed Santa Clarita city official in their complaint of a coverup.
“Seitz is informed and believes that after fleeing the scene Austin and Hernandez contacted Diez, their colleague and supervisor. Seitz is informed and believes that Diez has an infamous reputation among the inner circles of government and law enforcement of Santa Clarita as a person who can make criminal investigations go away,” according to the amended complaint.
The complaint adds an allegation that Diez helped a city official “cover up a sexual assault scandal and has helped Hernandez evade responsibility for a separate off-duty assault and battery that occurred outside a bar during the summer of 2025.”
The law firm declined to confirm the identity of the unnamed city official referenced in the complaint or provide any additional details when asked about potential further local involvement.
Josh Stambaugh, founding partner of Frost LLP, instead issued a statement in an email from spokeswoman Lisa Crawford:
“The amendment outlines and alleges blatant attempts to conceal the attack on Seitz using various leadership positions with the county and even trying to use personal friendships to hide the truth and prevent an investigation. We have also outlined and alleged a history of concealing similar incidents, such as an assault and battery by one of the same off-duty LASD deputies, and efforts to involve other law enforcement officers in covering up the Seitz beating.”
The complaint goes on to state Diez has a history of using deputies in similar coverup situations, and that one in particular, Jonathan Lee, was fired for his role in such activity.
The complaint also states that Diez contacted “certain trusted deputies” at the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station and told them to handle the investigation “and specifically directed them to determine Seitz was the instigator. However, the captain of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station discovered the plan and directed his deputies to stand down.”
The Sheriff’s Department issued a statement Tuesday through Nicole Nishida, director of communications, which referenced Lee as an employee “relieved of duty pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation.”
The lawsuit states the contacts by Diez and Wyatt were intended to silence Seitz and his friends. The complaint states Wyatt had no direct knowledge of what happened before he told Seitz’s friend that Seitz threw the first punch. The complaint states Wyatt described Seitz as being “unruly” in the hospital, despite Seitz being unconscious due to his injuries.
The lawsuit then describes a call between Diez and Seitz’s father as “unusual,” on its face, as “It is outside of the normal course of operations for a station captain to get involved in individual investigations in their nascent stages and also uncommon for a station captain to call the father of an adult suspect,” according to the lawsuit.
LASD allegations
The lawsuit alleges the phone call was intended to “dissuade Ryan Seitz from supporting or contacting his son,” who was transferred from Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital to UCLA hospital for the treatment of significant injuries.
“Ryan Seitz was further concerned how this incident would affect himself, Seitz, and their business, which has a strong reputation in the community as supporter of law enforcement, including sponsoring numerous charitable events to benefit law enforcement,” according to the lawsuit.
“Specifically, two LASD deputies stood guard denying Ryan Seitz access to Seitz for over an hour while at UCLA hospital,” the complaint continues. “Later when Ryan Seitz asked hospital staff when he would be able to see his son, he was informed that Seitz was not under arrest and an LASD deputy had changed the report.”
The complaint also states after Ryan Seitz spoke to his son, he contacted Diez, who “refused to look further into the matter and declared (Parker Seitz) the suspect and instigator.”
Ryan Seitz became upset and filed a complaint, according to the lawsuit, which also states Diez was allowed to sign off on an investigation into allegations against himself.
“Ryan Seitz made a telephonic complaint to LASD internal affairs on Nov. 28, 2024. Ryan Seitz received two letters from LASD on March 4, 2025, which were dated on Feb. 17, 2025, and March 3, 2025, nearly three months after the incident and the report, and both signed by Diez as a captain of LASD. The letter contained false information and a report signed by Lt. Richard O’Neal that contained false information,” according to the lawsuit.
O’Neal was named operations lieutenant at the SCV Sheriff’s Station following Diez’s promotion to commander.
“The Internal Affairs investigation acknowledged only the complaints about Austin and Hernandez and ignored the complaints about Diez’s off-the-books call and attempts at intimidation,” according to the complaint. “The Internal Affairs investigation acknowledged that conduct of the involved deputies ‘should have been different,’ but gave no further detail as to the findings or conclusions of the investigation.”
The amended complaint from Parker Seitz states Diez signed off on the investigation. Diez was promoted to commander in April, about one month later.
