A police officer brutally attacked a trans man for having an air freshener hanging in his car

A trans man was brutally attacked by a Los Angeles police officer for having an air freshener hanging in his car.

Deputy Joseph Benza tackled 23-year-old high school teacher Emmett Brock to the ground after following him into a 7-Eleven parking lot. Surveillance video of the incident, combined with audio from the officer’s bodycam, shows that despite the fact that Brock continued to scream for help and assure the officer he was not resisting, the officer would not let up.

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Benza can be heard screaming at Brock to place his hands behind his back while Brock yells multiple times that he can’t move his arms because the officer is holding them. The altercation lasted three minutes, during which Brock yelled, “You’re going to kill me. You’re going to f**king kill me. Help! Help! Help! I’m not resisting!” All the while, Benza was repeatedly punching Brock in the head while sitting on top of him.

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“Even when I did get [my arms] out the way he wanted, he continued to punch me,” Brock told The Los Angeles Times. “He just kept saying, ‘Stop resisting, stop resisting.’ I didn’t understand why he was shouting that because I wasn’t resisting.”

While Benza maintains that the incident began because Brock had an air freshener hanging in his rearview mirror that was allegedly obstructing his view of the road, one expert believes Benza’s actions were likely retaliatory.

Brock had been driving home from school when he saw Benza arguing with a woman on the side of the road. He put up his middle finger as he drove by but did not intend for Benza to see the gesture. Seconds later, Benza was following him. He didn’t turn on his sirens or attempt to pull Brock over, but he kept driving in the same direction.

Brock called 911 to explain what was happening and wanted to confirm it was a real police car and not a stalker.

“What is it that you want us to do? If he hasn’t pulled you over, he hasn’t pulled you over,” the 911 operator said.

When Brock pulled into the 7-Eleven to buy a soda, Benza drove up behind him and said, “I just stopped you.” Brock replied that he didn’t, and in response Benza grabbed Brock’s arm and tackled him.

Ed Obayashi, a national use-of-force expert and former Northern California sheriff’s deputy, told the Times it doesn’t make sense why the situation escalated so quickly.

“This could very well be contempt of cop,” he said, which means a cop has reacted violently after feeling they have been disrespected.

Benza ended up handcuffing and arresting Brock. At that point, Brock still had no idea why Benza had targeted him. He did not learn it was supposedly due to an air freshener until Benza filled out paperwork about the incident. His report did not include mention of Brock flipping him off. He also claimed he tackled him because Brock made a fist that looked like he was going to throw a punch. He accused Brock of biting him during the interaction, but medical reports don’t mention any bite marks.

“There is no moment that Emmett is not shouting or screaming,” said Brock’s lawyer, Thomas Beck. “And you can’t talk when your teeth are clamped onto someone’s hand.”

Benza’s report also detailed why he felt Brock was acting suspiciously.

“His rejection of my traffic detention and his apparent intent to distance himself from his vehicle further raise safety concerns,” Benza wrote. “I know from my training and experience that those who possess contraband items inside vehicles commonly attempt to disassociate themselves from their vehicles when law enforcement is present.”

Brock’s nightmare did not end there. At the police station, he was forced to show a jailer his genitals after explaining that he’s trans. And despite the fact that he met their criteria and has a penis, they placed him in a women’s holding cell. He was then charged with three felonies – obstruction, resisting arrest, and mayhem, as well as the misdemeanor charge of failure to obey a cop.

Due to the charges, he lost his teaching job.

“I lost so much of myself that day in the parking lot,” he said. “But I love what I do, and it is kind of how I define myself — and for that to be taken away? It felt like I had just lost everything.”

Benza, on the other hand, has been cleared of all wrongdoing.