LA County Sheriff disputes viral Tiktok that claims it served search warrant at wrong home
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has denied the allegations levied by viral TikToks that their deputies entered the wrong home while serving a search warrant in South San Gabriel.
"The videos depicted on social media do not capture the complete sequence of events," LASD stated.
According to the department, while the security camera footage of the incident was published in April 2023, the encounter happened about six months ago on Oct. 22, 2022. Deputies stated that they responded to the area because of a report of a person screaming, arguing and someone being hit.
"Deputies had a lawful duty to ensure there were no injured victims and/or suspects inside the location," the department stated.
Deputies arrived after 12:35 p.m. and were directed to an apartment by "concerned citizens." When they made it to the apartment they noticed the door was left ajar and announced their presence. While deputies tried to explain the reason they were there, the occupants of the apartment refused to comply and were uncooperative, the department said.
"After several attempts to have the occupants of the residence exit the location to ascertain if anyone was injured inside, the deputies made entry and a use of force against a juvenile occurred," the department said in a statement.
Ciedy Cordova, the woman that posted the now-viral posts, said she watched in horror as the deputies placed her 19-year-old daughter in handcuffs. Cordova and her husband went to get breakfast, leaving their daughter and 14-year-old son home. She said her kids were left traumatized after their encounter with deputies.
The Tiktoks, which garnered over 17 million views, showed the deputies placing a teenage girl in handcuffs as they searched the apartment. Additionally, the posts claimed that the girl's 14-year-old brother was arrested for recording the incident, however, the department disputed those assertions.
In a statement, the department said they witnessed a male driver using his cell phone as he drove through a stop sign.
"When deputies contacted him, he was uncooperative, refused to provide his driver's license and resisted a lawful order," the department stated.
A post claimed that the 14-year-old was taken to jail and the teenage girl was hurt during the ordeal.
"Following the detention and arrest for obstructing/resisting, both the juvenile and the stepfather reported they were not injured as a result of the incident," the department stated.
The department launched a use-of-force investigation following the incident.
