'He tried to kill me': Lawsuit announced in LASD use of force incident outside Lancaster Winco

LANCASTER, Calif. - The attorney representing the couple caught on camera in a now-viral video showing their rough arrest outside a Winco in Lancaster announced a lawsuit Monday against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Caree Harper, attorney for Jacy Huseton and Damon Barnes, made the announcement during a news conference calling on Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón to prosecute LA sheriff's deputy Trevor Kirk for the felony battery of Huseton.

"Where on earth is it acceptable to punch a woman in the face? Folks punching women in the face should be criminal and [they should be] arrested on the spot," Harper said. 

Additionally, they are asking for charges to be brought on the security guard who reported the alleged shoplifting incident. 

The confrontation happened a little over a month ago on June 24 when deputies from the LASD's Lancaster Station responded to the grocery store parking lot. 

Footage shows the two deputies confronting a Black couple accused of shoplifting. 

While deputies detained the man on the ground, the woman is filming with her phone. 

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She's eventually thrown to the ground and pepper sprayed before both were taken into custody. 

"The day of the incident, I thought that I was going to be killed," Huseton recalled.

After taking a long pause and holding back tears she said, "He tried to kill me…and for what? Because I was taking a picture or trying to take a video of possibly some misconduct on an African American male."

When asked what they said to her, she recalls, "They said nothing at first. They said nothing. I was just being body-bumped all around."

The latest video of the incident was released about a week and a half ago by the deputies. 

Surveillance video shows the woman speaking with security before shoving one of them as she tries to walk around him. 

The attorney for the deputy says it appears to show the woman pulling down her face mask and spitting on the security guard before walking away. 

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"Yes, she got in his face, put her mask down, and they exchanged words," Harper said. "But we're not going to split hairs between what occurred. There was no robbery, and there was battery by the security guard on her first. We want him arrested for battery, reporting an emergency, and intending for that emergency call to cause police to come with guns blaring, almost."

The couple was arrested on charges of petty theft and battery of store staff. 

According to Harper, Huseton suffered a fracture to her arm as well as a black eye.  She said both Huseton and Barnes are "mentally traumatized" following the confrontation. 

"This is Gascón's responsibility, we want his eyes on it," Harper added. "He represents the city and county, and we want the county to take action."

The sheriff's department has confirmed that both deputies have been removed from their patrol detail while the investigation is ongoing.