Former California police officer Joseph Benza III – who assaulted a trans man for flipping him off and then lied about it – is set to plead guilty to felony deprivation of rights under color of law after agreeing to a plea deal earlier this week. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

“When an officer violates someone’s civil rights, it corrodes trust in law enforcement and undermines the effectiveness of other officers who sacrifice to protect the public,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement.

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“This senseless assault and subsequent attempted cover-up are an affront to our system of justice. My office is committed to upholding civil rights and prosecuting those who abuse their authority.”

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In the summer of 2023, video footage revealed Banza tackling Emmett Brock, a then-23-year-old high school teacher, to the ground after following him into a 7-Eleven parking lot.

The surveillance video, combined with audio from the officer’s bodycam, showed 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.

Brock then endured anti-trans harassment at the police station, where he was charged with three felonies – obstruction, resisting arrest, and mayhem, as well as the misdemeanor charge of failure to obey a cop. He then lost his teaching job due to the charges.

In the footage captured at the scene, 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.

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

Benza maintained that the incident began because Brock had an air freshener hanging in his rearview mirror that was allegedly obstructing his view of the road, but it took place after Brock flipped off Benza, making it more likely the assault was retaliatory.

Brock had been driving home from school when he saw an officer believed to be Benza arguing with a woman on the side of the road. Brock 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.

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.

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 didn’t mention any bite marks.

At the police station, Brock was then forced to show a jailer his genitals after explaining that he’s trans.

A press release from the Central District of California’s U.S. Attorney’s Office said Benza admitted in the plea agreement that he abandoned the domestic violence call he was responding to when he saw Brock flip him off.

He said colleagues advised him to leave that part out of his incident report and admitted to making up the story about the air freshener being the motivation for the stop. He also admitted to lying about Brock biting his hand.

He also reportedly talked to colleagues about deleting text messages about the incident and made false statements to authorities during the initial investigation, during which he said he did not see Brock flip him off and also that did not discuss the incident report with others while writing it. He has since admitted that a sergeant wrote large portions of it.

“It is deeply troubling that a member of our Department, who has since been relieved of duty, violated the trust placed in them to uphold the law by abusing their authority,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna said in a statement. “These actions undermine the integrity of our Department, the trust of our community, and the safety of those we are sworn to protect.”

“Mr. Benza abused his position of authority to assault an innocent citizen, then dissembled to cover his actions during the subsequent investigation,” added Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI prioritizes the protection of civil rights and will pursue prosecution when warranted.”

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