Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

18 hours ago

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

19 hours ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

20 hours ago

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

21 hours ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

21 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

2 days ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

2 days ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

2 days ago
Los Angeles Officer Charged With Pummeling Unarmed Man
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
June 10, 2020

Share

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles police officer has been charged with assault for punching an unarmed trespassing suspect more than a dozen times in an encounter caught on video by a bystander, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Officer Frank Hernandez was charged with assault under color of authority.

“While we have a fiduciary responsibility to provide our members with assistance through the internal affairs administrative process, what we saw on that video was unacceptable and is not what we are trained to do.” — Los Angeles Police Protective League Board of Directors 
Video from a bystander and cameras worn by officers shows Hernandez pummeling the man on April 27 as he stood with his hands behind his back, as if he was going to be handcuffed.
The charge comes less than a week after thousands of protesters galvanized by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis called for the ouster of District Attorney Jackie Lacey for doing little to prosecute police officers for shootings and other violence on the job.
Black Lives Matter and other groups have criticized Lacey, who is black, for not bringing charges in hundreds of police shootings during her more than seven years running the largest local prosecutors office in the U.S.
Lacey has said she has done the best she can but is up against laws that allow officers to use deadly force and make it difficult to bring charges. She said she’s prosecuted more than 20 police officers for use of force and has the only pending case in the state for an officer-involved shooting.
Lacey is up for re-election in a campaign that has focused on prosecuting police brutality and criminal justice reforms.
Hernandez, 49, could face up to three years in county jail if convicted of the felony.
The union representing Hernandez issued a rare statement condemning what was portrayed in the videos.
“While we have a fiduciary responsibility to provide our members with assistance through the internal affairs administrative process, what we saw on that video was unacceptable and is not what we are trained to do” the Los Angeles Police Protective League Board of Directors said.

The Incident Occurred When Police Were Called About a Man Trespassing

It was not immediately clear if Hernandez had a defense lawyer who could provide comment.
The incident occurred when police were called about a man trespassing in a vacant lot in the Boyle Heights neighborhood.
Hernandez and a female partner arrived, crouched through a hole in a chain link fence and approached the suspect, telling him to leave, according to videos provided by police. The man, who was wearing a Los Angeles Rams jersey, cursed at the officers but grabbed his bicycle and left the grassy plot.
The female officer told him to be on his way, but after walking down a sidewalk past a church, the suspect told the officers he lived there.
“You don’t live here anymore,” Hernandez said. “Bye.”
The suspect then asked what Hernandez was going to do and said he wasn’t afraid of him. Hernandez approached the man and told him to turn around.
“Ain’t nobody acting defiant,” the man said, as he continued to curse at the officer. “Ain’t nobody getting crazy but you.”
After a brief scuffle when the man initially refused to put his hands behind his back, the suspect faced a fence and appeared to comply with the order. Hernandez grabbed the man’s hands as if he was going to cuff him and then took a wild swing and punched the man in the right side of the head.
Hernandez then delivered a series of blows to the man’s head, neck and body, cursing at him the entire time.
“This is a disturbing case of the illegal use of force at the hands of a police officer,” Lacey said in a statement. “In this case, we believe the force was neither legally necessary nor reasonable.”
Hernandez has been stripped of police powers and assigned to home, the police department said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

DON'T MISS

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

DON'T MISS

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

DON'T MISS

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Wildfire Prompts Advisory in Three Rivers Area

DON'T MISS

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

UP NEXT

California Republicans Send Message to Trump: Deport Criminals, Not Our Vital Workers

UP NEXT

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

UP NEXT

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Buying a Home With Solar? Beware of CA Bill Written by Former Utility Co. Exec

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Sues Los Angeles Over Immigration Enforcement

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Immigration Raids Leave Crops Unharvested, California Farms at Risk

UP NEXT

CA’s Population Shrank in Trump’s First Immigration Crackdown. It Could Happen Again

UP NEXT

Controversial Climate Rule That Could Raise Gas Prices About to Take Effect

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

13 hours ago

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

13 hours ago

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

13 hours ago

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

14 hours ago

Tulare County Wildfire Prompts Advisory in Three Rivers Area

14 hours ago

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

14 hours ago

Trump Says US Could Reach Trade Deal With India, Casts Doubt on Deal With Japan

14 hours ago

Jury Reaches Verdict on Some Counts at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Sex Trafficking Trial

15 hours ago

How Wimbledon Is Tackling Its Hottest Opening on Record

15 hours ago

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

LOS ANGELES — The Trump administration released about 150 National Guard troops on Tuesday in the first pullback since it dispatched a milit...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

An Israeli military convoy manoeuvres near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
12 hours ago

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

Abel Joel Garcia Zarate, 39, of Biola, was arrested Sunday, June, 30, 2025, in Madera County on suspicion of starting a wildfire just hours after crews responded to a separate blaze sparked by farm equipment. (Madera County SO)
12 hours ago

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

13 hours ago

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

An aerial view of the Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm in the strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. REUTERSStringerFile Photo
13 hours ago

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

Lara Trump looks on during Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump's rally, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 6, 2024. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 13, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend