A former deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), Christopher Blair Hernandez, is set to plead guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy, admitting to a violation of a skateboarder’s civil rights at a Compton park.
The incident transpired on April 13, 2020, when Hernandez and his then partner Miguel Angel Vega, while on patrol, encountered a young man identified as J.A. Despite J.A. not posing any threat, Vega initiated an argument with him, leading to J.A.’s illegal detention in the patrol car. Vega then challenged J.A. to a fight while confined in the car and suggested that he and Hernandez would fabricate allegations against J.A. to justify their actions.
Later, while pursuing a group of young men on bicycles, Vega crashed the patrol car, causing J.A. to sustain a cut above his right eye that required stitches. Post-collision, Vega ordered J.A. to leave and only informed other deputies and his supervising sergeant of J.A.’s presence in the vehicle after they independently detained him.
Hernandez directed another deputy to issue J.A. a citation for being under the influence of methamphetamine, despite knowing this claim to be false. Hernandez admits in his plea agreement that the reports authored by him and Vega included false, misleading, and ambiguous information to justify their actions.
Meanwhile, Vega has pleaded not guilty to several charges and awaits trial in October. This case highlights the importance of law enforcement accountability and the potential consequences of police misconduct.