First appeared on FOX: Lawyers for Los Angeles’ embattled top deputy district attorney broke their silence Wednesday after police released video recorded during a 2021 arrest that led to a $10,000 out-of-court civil settlement.
“The video clearly shows that Mr. Iniguez was wrongfully arrested,” Iniguez’s lawyer, Glenn Jonas, told Fox News Digital. “He was clear-headed, calm, forthright and in complete control.”
Azusa police pulled over Iniguez’s then-fiancé as he was driving her and her husband home from a wedding.
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A still image taken from a jail surveillance camera shows Los Angeles Chief Deputy District Attorney Joseph Iniguez making a phone call from jail after his 2021 arrest on a public indecency charge. (Azusa Police Station)
The fiancé was handcuffed but not charged, and the public intoxication case against Iniguez ultimately failed. But while investigating the case, investigators found evidence that led to 11 unrelated felony charges against another senior aide to Gascón, Diana Teran.
To me, Mr. Iniguez is a hero. He made a false arrest and used it to protect the good residents of Azusa who are now protected by body cameras because of him.
Watch Video: Los Angeles District Attorney’s right-hand man arrested on public intoxication charges
“I expect that in a situation like this, we would all try to protect my fiance,” Jonas said. “To me, Mr. Iniguez is a hero. He made a false arrest and used it to protect the good residents of Azusa. Because of him, the residents of Azusa are protected by body cameras.”
Iniguez recorded the incident on his cell phone because Azusa police did not have body cameras at the time.
Joseph Iniguez and George Gascón attend the ‘Los Angeles Prison Reform Summit + Day Party: Mental Health Matters’ in Pasadena, California on November 9, 2019. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images, courtesy of Patrice Cullors)
Video shows LA DA George Gascon’s right hand man being arrested for DUI: “I pulled over the wrong person.”
“Without body cameras, many more innocent citizens would be victims of false arrest and defamation,” Jonas said.
“You pulled over the wrong person,” Iniguez is heard telling the officers in the video.
“This is not right,” he says. “So they Law Enforcement And like the interaction with the police, he did the right thing tonight and drove me. We were at a wedding.”
After handcuffing the driver, officers told Iniguez he was also under arrest. (Azusa Police Station)
Iniguez also asked the police to check his license plate number, which showed he was driving a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
“Check the license plate and see what you can find,” he said. “Honestly, I’m not going to say anything. Just see what you can find.”
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He admitted to drinking alcohol at the wedding and repeatedly interrupted officers trying to question his fiancée.
During the encounter, Iniguez also urged his fiancee not to cooperate with officers, which may be a violation of district attorney’s office policy and state law.
Police officers take Georges Gascon’s right-hand man, Joseph Iniguez, to jail after he was pulled over for public intoxication in 2021. (Azusa Police Station)
Iniguez sued Azusa on federal civil rights grounds over his arrest and last year received a $10,000 settlement that critics described as a “nuisance payment.”
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Jonas said Iniguez donated his fee to “a nonprofit organization that advocates for a modern approach to constitutional policing.”
The Azusa Police Department said in a statement Tuesday that its officers were in full compliance with state law and internal policies.
Iniguez is accused of repeatedly obstructing Azusa police officers who were attempting to question his then-fiancée after being pulled over for a traffic violation. (Azusa Police Station)
“The City of Azusa and Chief [Rocky] Wenrick firmly supports its employees and the decisions they make. [Iniguez’s] “An arrest has been made,” police announced.
Gascón’s office declined to comment on the matter.
Iniguez also came under fire in recent weeks for announcing that the district attorney’s office would remove two lead prosecutors from the child murder trial before the verdict, citing apparent conflicts of interest involving Teran. Iniguez later backtracked, and the two remained in charge even after the case was transferred to a department with no ties to Teran.
