A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with assaulting an inmate with pepper spray at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse and then falsifying a police report about the incident in 2022, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Maria Torres, 43, is charged with one felony count each of assault by a public officer and filing a false report by a police officer, according to a statement released by the District Attorney’s Office.
Torres allegedly unlawfully pepper-sprayed the inmate through a gap in a cell door at a courthouse lockup at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center after he would not exit his cell and then allegedly falsified a report about her use of force on Jan. 20, 2022, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The case stemmed from an investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Internal Criminal Investigation Bureau.
In a statement announcing the charges, District Attorney George Gascón said, “The alleged actions of Deputy Maria Torres are not only contrary to the values and principles that we uphold in law enforcement, but they also represent a significant breach of trust within our community. The victim deserved to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of the circumstances.”
Torres was relieved of duty on Jan. 25, 2022, pending the outcome of the criminal case, according to a statement from the sheriff’s department issued Thursday.
“Our personnel are entrusted with upholding justice and protecting those in our custody and in our communities with integrity, the statement said. “When there is evidence that violate department policies and procedures personnel are held accountable. All individuals, whether they wear a badge or not, are held to equal standards under the law.”
An arraignment date has not been set for Torres.
She could face up to three years and eight months behind bars if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney’s Office.