Man seen punched by Santa Ana police in viral video won't face charges from arrest

A cellphone video appearing to show Santa Ana police officers slamming a man to the ground and punching him outside his family's home spread online in early October. The clip had people debating whether officers used too much force or whether the arrest was justified by what happened before the camera started rolling.

The man is Florentino Lopez, 28, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Orange County district attorney's office later dropped the case tied to that arrest. Prosecutors are pursuing a probation violation against him instead.

What happened

The arrest happened around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1. According to Lopez's attorney, John Kremer, Lopez and his younger sister were smoking on the front lawn of the home Lopez shares with his parents when two officers arrived and called him into the street. His sister recorded what followed, the Times reported.

In the video, two officers hold Lopez against the hood of a patrol car with his hands behind his back. One officer asks, "You want to go down?" and Lopez answers, "Look at me when you do it then." The same officer then pulls him to the ground, punching and kicking him, while a second officer kneels on his stomach, the Times reported. Two more officers arrive, and Lopez is handcuffed.

"All of the sudden, things got out of control," Kremer told the Times. He said the video "speaks for itself" and shows excessive force. The department has not named the officers and did not respond to the Times' request for comment.

“Look at me when you do it then.”

What city leaders said

Police Chief Robert Rodriguez said in a statement on Sunday, Oct. 4, that he had "personally reviewed the video" and that the department takes "every use of force seriously." He said the department was reviewing body-worn camera footage, reports and the circumstances of the arrest.

Mayor Valerie Amezcua posted the same day that the matter is under investigation and that she supports "transparency and a thorough investigation," adding that "we cannot judge all officers by one's actions." At a council meeting the following week, city officials said they plan to hire an independent investigator to review the officers' body camera footage.

“What was the probable cause to start beating him?”

The charges

After the arrest, Lopez was charged with resisting an officer and smoking near a school, and cited for being a pedestrian in the roadway. His bail was set at $20,000, and he was due in court Oct. 13 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

That Tuesday, Oct. 13, the DA's office dropped the felony case tied to the arrest without explaining why, the Times reported. DA spokesperson Kimberly Edds said that after weighing the evidence, including body-worn camera video, prosecutors "determined that pursuing the probation violation was the most appropriate sanction."

In January, Lopez pleaded guilty to charges including carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm, evading an officer, reckless driving, a hit-and-run involving property damage and resisting an officer, and was placed on two years' probation, the Times reported. Kremer said one officer knew Lopez was on probation when police approached him for smoking marijuana. Lopez is accused of violating that probation; he has not been found to have done so.

“It takes four of you to take one.”

What’s next

Lopez intends to fight the alleged felony probation violation, his attorney told the Times. The police department's internal investigation is ongoing, and the city has said it will hire an independent investigator to review the body camera footage. No next court date in the probation case had been reported as of publication.