More than three years after a police-brutality incident resulted in a four-month jail sentence for a Lancaster sheriff’s deputy from Valencia, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $3 million settlement for the victims.
Jacy Houseton and Damon Barnes claimed they were victims of police brutality on June 24, 2023, after a confrontation with former Lancaster Sheriff’s Station Deputy Trevor James Kirk, a Valencia resident at the time, who responded to a report of an assault at the Lancaster WinCo grocery store.
The complaint notes that both Barnes and Houseton had receipts for purchases they made in the store, but “the next sequence of events differ depending on the source.”
Video released by Kirk’s attorney purports to show Houseton spit on the security guard as she left. Another viral video showed Kirk throwing Houseton to the ground after a confrontation with her.
Kirk “approached (Houseton) and, without giving any commands, attempted to grab her phone. (Houseton) 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 a Feb. 6, 2025, Department of Justice news release announcing Kirk’s jury conviction after a three-day trial. “Kirk then pressed his knee into (Houseton)’s neck, and she said, ‘Get your neck [sic] off my… off my … I can’t breathe.’ While on top of J.H., Kirk used his LASD radio to give a misleading report that he was in a ‘fight.’”
Kirk was convicted of a federal misdemeanor charge — a deprivation of rights under the color of law — and sentenced to four months in federal custody, as well as one year of supervised probation.
That sentence almost wasn’t served, after the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, an office re-assigned to Bill Essayli on April 1, changed its demeanor toward the charges.
After the conviction, Essayli filed a motion seeking to strike the jury’s findings, dismiss the felony indictment and lessen Kirk’s sentence.
Judge Stephen V. Wilson found the motion contrary to the public’s interest and to be rooted in a disagreement with the court’s decision, not a factual reversal, according to his 11-page ruling to deny Kirk a dismissal.
Still, county attorneys recommended the board approve the full settlement amount to avoid further risk to the county’s liability at trial.
“Given the risks and uncertainties of litigation, a reasonable settlement at this time will avoid further litigation costs,” according to the Board of Supervisors’ agenda, which calls it the “full and final settlement of the case.”
L.A. County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a statement via email Tuesday in response to the vote:
“For me, this settlement underscores the gravity of this incident and the severe consequences that can result when an emergency call doesn’t accurately convey the situation on the ground,” she said. “Regardless of the circumstances, there are plenty of lessons learned so that this doesn’t happen again.”
The settlement was reached in April 2025, according to emails between the county and the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
A year after the agreement was reached, the plaintiffs’ attorneys filed a motion for an order enforcing settlement and entry of judgment for their $42,500 in legal fees for the case in April 2026, which had still not been paid out as of the filing.
Wilson granted the order.
