Two Calif. deputies charged in beating caught on video

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO

Two Northern California deputy sheriffs were charged with felonies Tuesday in the beating of a car-theft suspect in an incident captured on surveillance video and circulated widely online.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon announced that Alameda County deputy sheriffs Luis R. Santamaria and Paul D. Wieber were each charged with assault with a deadly weapon, assault under color of authority and battery.

Two residents’ surveillance cameras captured deputies continuing to beat the suspect with steel batons as he lay on the ground, crying out in pain. In addition, Gascon said one of the deputies’ body-worn cameras appears to have accidentally turned on.

“I’m sorry,” Stanislav Petrov could be heard screaming on one of the videos. “Help me.”

Gascon said Santamaria and Wieber plan to turn themselves in today. Santamaria has been a deputy for nearly 15 years. Wieber has served three years.