A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been fired after pleading guilty to a federal civil rights violation for using excessive force on a transgender man in a 7-Eleven parking lot last year, and then lying about the incident.

The officer admitted to filing a false incident report seeking to cover up his actions following a transgender man's violent arrest.

In Los Angeles, eight L.A. sheriff’s deputies have been fired for their roles in the arrest and beating of a transgender man outside a convenience store in February 2023. Emmett Brock was driving home from his job as a teacher when he was followed by deputy Joseph Benza to a 7-Eleven parking lot,

Joseph Benza III, 36, was charged late Tuesday with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for what prosecutors alleged was a 2022 assault on Emmett Brock, then a 23-year-old teacher on his way home from work.

Days after a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy agreed to plead guilty to beating a transgender man for flipping him off, at least eight colleagues have been relieved of duty amid the investigation into an alleged cover-up,

Former California police officer Joseph Benza III – who assaulted a trans man for flipping him off and then lied about it – is set to plead guilty to felony deprivation of rights under color of law after agreeing to a plea deal earlier this week. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison.