- Los Angeles deputies were captured on video appearing to bash a man's head into the pavement during a violent arrest.
- The incident caused the man being arrested to lose an eye, his family said on a GoFundMe page.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department deputies were captured on video appearing to bash a man's head into the pavement during a recent violent arrest that the man's family said caused him to lose an eye.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told Insider in a statement on Wednesday that it is aware of the October 16 incident in the California city of Inglewood and that investigators are probing it.
"The incident is under review by our Internal Affairs Bureau, and we are unable to comment further due to a pending investigation," the sheriff's department said.
Cell phone video first posted to Twitter by Los Angeles-based journalist Cerise Castle shows the brutal arrest of a man identified by his family and Castle as Blake Anderson.
—Cerise Castle (@cerisecastle) October 19, 2022
At the beginning of the 91-second clip, two deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department appear to be trying to restrain the man as one holds him in a headlock and the other strikes him over and over in front of a shocked crowd.
Bystanders can be heard yelling during the commotion that the man works security at the hookah lounge, in front of which the incident took place.
Anderson was on-duty as a security guard and "according to multiple witnesses" talking with a customer when the deputies "got out of their vehicle and proceeded to ambush him with no probable cause," Anderson's sibling, Bailey Anderson, wrote on a GoFundMe page, saying that her brother was "brutally assaulted."
"No name, source of identification, or justification for arrest was asked for before immediately slamming his head into a glass window," says the GoFundMe, which was launched Wednesday and is seeking to raise money for Blake's legal and medical expenses.
At one point, the cellphone video appears to show Blake pinned down on the ground as a deputy pulls out his gun and points it at the back of his head.
"Blake, Blake, no, Blake, no, Blake, Blake, no, Blake, don't resist, Blake, no, no, no, no, no, come on, do what you got to do, come on, please Blake, no!" a woman can be heard pleading in the video as she warns, "Don't fight back."
While Blake is being held on the ground, a deputy appears to be punching him in the side of the head and bashing his face into the pavement.
"He did nothing! He was walking with me! He did nothing!" the same woman bystander shouts as Blake is seen being placed in handcuffs, the video shows.
Moments before the video cuts off, one of the deputies is seen pointing his gun at the angry crowd.
It was not immediately clear what led LASD deputies to arrest Blake.
Surveillance footage of the incident posted to Twitter by Castle shows the man walking down the street with a woman shortly before the deputies pull up in a patrol vehicle and go after him.
—Cerise Castle (@cerisecastle) October 19, 2022
Blake had been recovering from a "ruptured right eye and finally showing signs of his sight returning" prior to the incident, but now his "sight improvement" has "deteriorated," Bailey Anderson said on the GoFundMe page.
"Doctors say the eye must be cosmetically removed, and a prosthetic eye should be inserted," says the GoFundMe, which adds that Blake suffered multiple injuries as a result of the incident, including a dislocated shoulder.
"After being slammed into the window, Blake attempted to let the officers know about the current condition of his eye to no avail," the GoFundMe says.
It adds that while Blake was down on the ground a deputy "repeatedly struck him in the head with his firearm, punched him in the face, pressed his gun into the back of his head, continuously slammed his head into the concrete, and stomped on his head. All while his partner held Blake down."
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department did not reveal to Insider whether or not the deputies involved were placed on leave amid its investigation into the matter.
It was not clear whether Blake was charged.
Bailey Anderson did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider.