The Los Angeles County Sheriff's office says it's probing an LA Times journalist over a leaked video of a deputy kneeling on a jail inmates head for three minutes.
LA sheriff Alex Villenueva accused reporter Alene Tcheckmedyian of illegally obtaining the footage of inmate Enzo Escalante being restrained in March 2021, then writing false claims about his department.
Escalante survived the encounter, with charges against him later dropped.
He even flashed up her professional headshot during a Tuesday press conference detailing his office's probe into the leaked video.
Tcheckmedyian's report had suggested the sheriff's office had tried to cover up the clip over fears it would make cops look bad after the May 2020 murder of George Floyd.
'This is stolen property that was removed illegally by people who had some criminal intent. It'll be subject to investigation,' Billanueva said.
Villanueva launched his campaign against Tcheckmedyian after she published an article Monday detailing a legal claim from an officer alleging the sheriff covered up the kneeling incident out of fear of 'negative publicity' given the 'similarities to widely publicized George Floyd use of force.'
Tchekmedyian also published security footage of the deputy handcuffing an inmate, who had punched him in the face. Once the inmate was on the floor, the officer knelt on his head for three minutes.
'"Fearing bad publicity, LASD covered a case of deputy who knelt on inmates head." Wow, this is a false headline...
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