Sheriff’s Deputy Charged With Civil Rights Violations

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who allegedly punched and pointed a gun at a man being treated in an Antelope Valley emergency room was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on charges of violating federal civil rights laws.

The case against Deputy Henry Meyers, 30, was brought after the Sheriff’s Department reported his conduct to federal authorities.

Under the two-count federal indictment, alleging deprivation of rights under color of law, Meyers could face a maximum of 10 years in federal prison if he is convicted on both charges.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Jeffrey M. Rawitz declined to comment on the government’s case against Meyers. He said the deputy, a seven-year veteran assigned to the Antelope Valley sheriff’s station, is tentatively scheduled to be arraigned by a U.S. magistrate Oct. 6.

The three-page indictment charges that Meyers was on duty when he “intentionally [used] unreasonable force” against Guillermo Soto during a medical examination in the emergency room of the Antelope Valley Medical Center by punching him in the face and pointing a pistol at him.

Neither federal authorities nor the Sheriff’s Department would give any other details of the March 20 incident. Sgt. Steve Smith of the sheriff’s Antelope Valley station said Meyers had been relieved of duty.

In a prepared statement, Meyers’ defense attorney, Richard G. Hirsch, said it has been Meyers’ “lifelong ambition to be a deputy sheriff. He is devastated by the charges against him.”

The department referred the case to the U.S. attorney’s office after an investigation by its Internal Criminal Investigation Bureau, he said.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Mike Gennaco said that in the past, the Sheriff’s Department had referred such cases to the county district attorney for possible prosecution. The fact that the agency brought the case to federal authorities indicates a welcome “new relationship between state investigative authorities and federal prosecutors,” he said.