A Los Angeles-based rapper filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the county, claiming civil rights violations he says took place when sheriff’s deputies allegedly threatened to shoot and kill him as he sat alone in his car on New Year’s Eve.
Feezy Lebron contends that at about 6 p.m. on Dec. 31, he was in his car in a Gardena parking lot waiting to meet a friend, listening to music and live-streaming to his fans on Instagram when Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies drove up and shined a flashlight at his car.
One deputy opened the driver’s side door, grabbed Lebron by the arm and tried to pull him out, the lawsuit alleges. Moments later, a second deputy walked up, pulled out a canister of pepper spray and said he was going to spray Lebron, the rapper contends.
The same deputy took out his gun, pointed it at Lebron’s chest and repeatedly threatened to shoot him as the singer sat with his hands raised, according to the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court.
The deputy allegedly told Lebron, “Move your hands from right there and you’re done,” the suit states.
The lawman added, “You take off in this car, I’m gonna shoot you” and “You put this car in drive, you’re getting one right to the chest,” according to the lawsuit, which names the LASD, Sheriff Robert Luna, Deputy Justin Sabatine and Deputy Jacob Ruiz as defendants.
The suit alleges that when Lebron asked one of the deputies if he was going to shoot him, the deputy responded, “Absolutely.”
The LASD previously released a statement stating the encounter was being investigated.
“While the department does not make statements related to ongoing investigations, Sheriff (Robert) Luna has made it clear that he expects department personnel to treat all members of the public with dignity and respect and that personnel who do not uphold our training standards will be held accountable,” the statement read.
Lebron says he was taken out of his car, handcuffed and detained for about 30 minutes while deputies searched the vehicle, then subsequently released him with a citation for a missing front license plate.
Later that evening, Lebron went to a sheriff’s station to file a written complaint. There, deputies forced Lebron to wait for four hours, during which the deputy who had earlier threatened to kill Lebron mocked him, minimized the assault and attempted to bully him into not filing a complaint, his lawyers said.
Bodycam footage of the incident was released in early January and went viral across social media. The video shows a deputy pointing a gun at Lebron as he was sitting inside his car.
Lebron, who claims he was traumatized by the incident, contends he continues to suffer panic attacks, is unable to sleep and is afraid to drive.
The rapper, whose real name is Darral Scott, coaches his son’s youth football team and volunteers as a counselor with a Compton-based non-profit focusing on gang intervention, feeding the homeless and toy drives, his lawyers said.
Morgan Ricketts, one of Lebron’s attorneys, said it was time “for Sheriff Luna to stand behind his promises, eradicate deputy gangs, and remove lawless, dangerous deputies — beginning with Sabatine and Ruiz.”