LOS ANGELES -- An LA County Sheriff's Department commander has sued the county and Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the latest of several department members to claim Villanueva directed a cover-up of a video of a deputy with his knee on the head of a man in custody for three minutes.
Plaintiff Allen Castellano's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges whistleblower retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, false light and a violation of the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights.
Castellano seeks at least $10 million in general damages and another $5 million in special damages. Also named as defendants are Cmdr. John Satterfield and Deputy David Yoo.
An LASD representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit filed Tuesday, which alleges that Villanueva retaliated against Castellano and other whistleblowers regarding the alleged use of excessive force on March 10, 2021, by Deputy Douglas Johnson against an inmate, Enzo Escalante, at the San Fernando courthouse.
``The incident is reminiscent of how (former Minneapolis police) Officer Derek Chauvin had improperly cut George Floyd's air off,'' the suit states. ``Here, Escalante survived, but under LASD policy, the nature of the deputy's conduct required a swift criminal and administrative investigation into his conduct.''
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