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Photo by Michael Brown/KHTS News.

Over 100 Show Up For Sit-Out Protest In Front Of SCV Sheriff’s Station

Over 100 people came out Friday to protest in front of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station in Valencia to voice their outrage over the actions of Santa Clarita deputies who drew guns on a group of teenagers during an assault with a deadly weapon call last week.

Photo by Michael Brown/KHTS News.

On Friday evening, dozens of residents sat outside of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station at the corner of Magic Mountain Parkway and Valencia Boulevard, while dozens more stood at the other three corners of the intersection.

“A lot of people are outraged about what happened in Canyon Country,” said Amanda Sinks, one of the participants at Friday’s protest. “So everyone came to the police station to protest police brutality and how they’re abusing the system.”

The incident that Sinks referred to happened the week before outside of the Buffalo Wild Wings in Canyon Country, where several deputies with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station drew guns at several teenagers after receiving reports of an assault with a skateboard.

Witnesses at the time reported that the teenagers were the ones being attacked by a homeless individual, and used their skateboards to defend themselves.

“If they would have just assessed the situation before they pulled their guns, they would have obviously found out what was really happening,” Sinks said. “Those calls happen all the time, and I don’t see guns getting pulled at all those other false calls. It only happens when colored kids are involved that guns have to be pulled.”

Video of the incident went viral over the weekend, sparking outrage from the Santa Clarita Community on social media.

“I never thought that would happen, but I’m not surprised it would happen,” Sinks said.

Another protester, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he was “confused and pissed off” after seeing the video, as well as “total bullsh*t.”

“I was just thinking, ‘Why?’” he recounted. “‘What led to this, and why did you think this was okay?’”

See Related: Residents React To Video Of Santa Clarita Deputies Drawing Guns On Canyon Country Teens

The original incident began at around 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, when deputies received reports of an assault with a deadly weapon on Soledad Canyon Rd. near Whites Canyon Rd. 

“We received a call regarding an assault with a deadly weapon, a skateboard,” said Lt. Ethan Marquez with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, at the time.

Tammi Collins, the mother of one of the teens detained, said her son was sitting at a bus stop in Santa Clarita with friends when a man who appeared to be homeless approached the teen.

“He was attacked by a gentleman, homeless guy, who approached them and first asked them if they had any crack then tried to take their things,” Collins said in a social media post.

Photo by Michael Brown/KHTS News.

After making contact, Collins said that the man became aggressive and attempted to stab the teen.

“The guy became so aggressive that he took his shirt off, pulled out a knife and whip (and) tried to stab them,” she wrote.

The teen and his friends “only had their skateboards to cover them from the knife and whip so they held it out to keep a distance from this guy,” according to Collins.

Several bystanders contacted law enforcement claiming the teens were attacking the man, prompting the assault with a deadly weapon call from law enforcement.

When deputies arrived on scene, they proceeded to detain several teenagers at gunpoint, with one deputy pointing an assault rifle at the teens.

See Related: County Inspector General To Perform Independent Investigation On Action Of Santa Clarita Deputies

While at least two of the teenagers were detained, they were later released, and law enforcement officials later determined that no crime had taken place.

Several bystanders took video of the incident and posted it on social media over the weekend, prompting a response from both the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the City of Santa Clarita.

“We have spoken to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and we are aware that a full investigation is underway regarding the level of response by the deputies,” Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth said in a statement Monday. “We have asked that the review be expedited and any necessary actions be taken. In addition, we have asked that the deputy be removed from the field pending the outcome of the investigation.”

For her part, Sinks said that Smyth’s response was “vague,” and that the City of Santa Clarita was not “putting enough pressure on the Sheriff’s Station.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva also commented on the incident in a video, where he stated that he had “concerns regarding the tactics employed.”

Photo by Michael Brown/KHTS News.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger released a statement, calling the incident “extremely troubling and disheartening – especially knowing that altercations such as this diminish trust and respect rather than reinforce it among those we are entrusted to serve.”

“I encourage Sheriff Alex Villanueva to support transparency and accountability for the community with a thorough investigation of the facts surrounding this case,” she said. “In addition, I have spoken with Los Angeles County Inspector General Max Huntsman and asked that he share his independent review of the results of the investigation with my office, city leaders and the community.”

Sinks, along with many of the other protesters, shared that they hoped their continued protests and demonstrations would “amplify” their voices when it came to topics such as racial inequality and law enforcement. 

“If I can just change the mind of one person, I’ve done at least a good job, in my opinion,” she concluded. “I want to reach multiple people obviously, but if I can just change one person, then maybe they can change one person’s mind.”

Photo by Michael Brown/KHTS News.


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Over 100 Show Up For Sit-Out Protest In Front Of SCV Sheriff’s Station

16 comments

  1. Disarm and defund? I see what that looks like. I just watch the footage of Portland, Minneapolis, Chicago. Lawlessness , violence, chaos. No thanks. I’d like to keep SCV AwesomeTown!! God Bless law enforcement??

  2. Paid protesters from out of town. The people who actually live here support the LASD all the way.

  3. Who do you think paid?

  4. What a bunch of BS, the same thing happened to my white son and his brother in Santa Clarita and everyone did what they were supposed to and eveyone went home. Same thing, felony stop, guns drawn and my son handcuffed for reports of someone shooting a gun in the hills and it wasnt my kids. It is irresponsible to make this a race issue but it is the only way to fit their agenda.

    • You’re right! Doesn’t take much these days for folks to call the race card just-like-THAT! They wanna say whatever they want to whine and act the victims all the time! This has to stop! Quit acting like thugs, doesn’t matter who it is or the color of their skin! Act like a POS and get treated like it! That simple! But those same folks sure don’t want to realize simple common sense! Just the constant whining and acting like everyone is against them! It’s disgusting and sickening! You’ll never get ahead if you want to just keep going down that same road forever! Duh! Reality check!! Now you have all these people protesting 30 things at the same time all over the country, and it’s gotten to the point that they all blend into each other and people are just fed up with the violence and shit-stirring and simply want it all to stop! Nobody cares why they’re protesting anymore. Noise is noise, and that’s all it is now.

  5. Wake up White people! Blacks have a white chip on their shoulder. Knock it off. If these teens were white it wouldn’t have made the news. Everyone has their panties in a bunch over nothing. Good for you black sympathizers. Did not see an African American in the bunch of protesters. Go home and something constructive, Idiots! too much time and not enough to do. No resisting arrest, everyone went home alive.

  6. Thank you Jim, Jeff and Heather. You three are right on target with your comments. We all need to defend, not defund our officers. They do a wonderful job in our community!! It is time for all law enforcement to be just that. We have laws, lets support those who enforce them !!!!!

  7. So easy to make these comments when it doesn’t happen to YOU. “things are fine” because you’re not impacted. it’s called privilege. we’re all guilty of it. lets just clean it up, get educated, and stop with the hate. there are good and bad cops. good and bad people. why can’t we just educate ourselves (in this case, the officers getting the facts before pulling a gun on innocent teens). It was too long and unnecessary…..don’t hate–COMMUNICATE.

  8. White people don’t need to apologize for being white. Stop gaslighting people. We have a wonderful community and an incredible Police Dept in SCV.

  9. It’s perfectly clear that these people are ignorant. Santa Clarita has always been a melting pot of culture and races and everyone respects each other. These ANTIFA doesnt care about anyone or anything except to call ANYONE who doesn’t agree with them a RACIST. Let’s send terrorist Organizations like Antifa and BLM that we don’t care about THEIR Lies or Narrative. I back the badge and I love America.

  10. LE gets a felony radio call, they often arrive with protection for themselves & others. Once the non-resisting, peaceful suspects and others give all the facts, the non-resisting, peaceful, respectful suspects are released to enjoy their day & the rest of their peaceful lives. They don’t show up with play-dough, hand out cupcakes until the facts are known. If they live in naive, Peter Pan fantasies, they and others could be killed!

  11. Lets not make it about race, there were 2 black teens and one white teen and they were all treated the same. It might have been a little aggressive but they all got to go home safe. This is not about race. All though I do believe the Sheriffs can be a little too aggressive with teens in the valley I raised 5 of them here and I am so glad it was for the most part a safe town for all of them and one is not white. I appreciate the law, and all the men and women that put their life on the line every day. Wouldn’t be great if they never had to encounter criminals, but they do.

  12. It says it was reported as being called in as an “assault with a deadly weapon.” I would expect them to be armed and ready if they are expecting weapons. It doesn’t sound like they were told who was assaulting who, so they obviously had to figure that out after they got there. These men and women put their lives on the line every day walking into volatile situations having no idea if they will be wounded or killed or if they will would or kill. It’s a lot easier to sit from home and judge than to be the one having to walk into a possibly dangerous situation, not having any idea what may transpire. They did their jobs. No one was hurt. Everyone went home safe. Why make such a big deal. This protesting and wanting to Defund will leave us with passive and gun shy law enforcement officers which will not be safe for anyone, them or us, and the criminals will just get away with their crimes if the officers are afraid to respond. If my child was being attacked, I’d want them coming in guns blazing, rather than a murderer, rapist, or kidnapper getting away.

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About Michael Brown

Michael Brown has lived in Santa Clarita his whole life. Graduating from Saugus High School in 2016, he continued to stay local by attending The Master’s University, where he achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. Michael joined KHTS in January of 2018 as a news intern, and has since gone on to become the News Director for the KHTS Newsroom. Since joining KHTS, Michael has covered many breaking news stories (both on scene and on air), interviewed dozens of prominent state and federal political figures, and interacted with hundreds of residents from Santa Clarita. When he is not working, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, as well as reading any comic book he can get his hands on.