Man seen in video being punched by Santa Ana police will not face charges in that arrest

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A man who is seen in a social media video being punched by Santa Ana police officers will not face criminal charges in connection with that arrest, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Florentino Lopez, 28, claimed officers used excessive force when they arrested him earlier this month. After the incident, he was charged with resisting arrest and smoking near a school and was cited for being a pedestrian on a roadway, according to Lopez’s attorney, John Kremer.

An undated video circulating on social media shows two Santa Ana police officers slamming Lopez to the ground, striking him while he uses his hands to protect himself and repeatedly yells out, “Lawsuit!”

The incident sparked public outrage and prompted the police department to launch an internal investigation. The department has not identified the officers.

Video of man thrown to the ground and beaten by officers during his recent arrest. (Alexzander Lopez)

A spokesperson for the department did not respond to a request for comment.

City officials said during a council meeting last week that they planned to hire an independent investigator to review the officers’ body camera footage.

Kremer said the Orange County district attorney dropped the charges in connection with his arrest on Tuesday without explanation.

“At this juncture,” he said, “I will respectfully refrain from engaging in speculation as to the prosecution’s reasons or motives for their decision to dismiss the felony case against Mr. Lopez.”

In an email response to The Times, Kimberly Edds, spokesperson for the district attorney, said prosecutors were instead pursuing a probation violation against Lopez.

“Based on the totality of the evidence in the case, including the body worn camera video, we determined that pursuing the probation violation was the most appropriate sanction,” she wrote.

Santa Ana authorities are investigating after a video circulated online of officers allegedly beating a man during his arrest.

In January, Lopez pleaded guilty to carrying an unregistered firearm in public, possessing a concealed, loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, evading a peace officer, reckless driving, hit-and-run involving property damage and resisting a public or peace officer, according to Orange County court records.

Lopez was placed on two years’ probation, which he is now accused of violating following the Oct. 1 incident with Santa Ana police officers. Kremer said one of the officers knew that Lopez was on probation when they made contact with him for smoking marijuana.

Video footage of that night was captured by Lopez’s younger sister, who was outside with her brother smoking on the front lawn of their parents’ home when the two officers arrived and summoned Lopez out into the street, according to Kremer.

A version of the video shared on social media shows Lopez on the hood of a police cruiser with his hands behind his back, talking to the police officers.

“You want to go down?” one of the officers is heard saying.

“You’re gonna do this? Look at me when you do it then,” Lopez is heard telling the officer.

Shortly after, the video shows the same officer yanking him to the ground, punching and kicking him. The second officer is seen kneeling on his stomach. The incident ended when two other officers arrived to restore order, at which point Lopez was handcuffed, Kremer previously told The Times.

Kremer said the video “speaks for itself” and shows excessive use of force by the officers.

“Needless to say, Mr. Lopez is quite pleased with the dismissal of the case, and he intends to vigorously defend against the alleged felony probation violation.”

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Ruben Vives is a general assignment reporter for the Los Angeles Times. A native of Guatemala, he got his start in journalism by writing for The Times’ Homicide Report in 2007. He helped uncover the financial corruption in the city of Bell that led to criminal charges against eight city officials. The 2010 investigative series won the Pulitzer Prize for public service and other prestigious awards.

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