FIRST ON FOX: The lawyer for Los Angeles’ embattled chief deputy district attorney broke his silence Wednesday after police unveiled video stemming from a 2021 arrest that led to a $10,000 out-of-court civil settlement.
“The video shows that Mr. Iniguez was 100%, without a doubt falsely arrested,” Iniguez’s attorney Glen Jonas told Fox News Digital. “He was lucid, calm, direct and in full control.”
Azusa police pulled over Iniguez’s then-fiance, who was driving the couple home from a wedding.
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A still image taken from jailhouse surveillance video shows Los Angeles Chief Deputy District Attorney Joseph Iniguez making a phone call from lockup after a 2021 arrest for public intoxication. (Azusa Police Department)
Although the fiance was handcuffed, he was not charged, and the public intoxication case against Iniguez ultimately fell apart. However, while examining the incident, investigators found evidence that led to 11 unrelated felony charges against Diana Teran, another top Gascon aide.
Mr. Iniguez in my book is a hero, he took a false arrest and used it to protect the good citizens of Azusa who are now because of him protected with body worn cameras.
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“I would hope that all of us would try to protect their fiancé under these circumstances,” Jonas said. “Mr. Iniguez in my book is a hero, he took a false arrest and used it to protect the good citizens of Azusa who are now because of him protected with body worn cameras.”
Iniguez recorded the incident on his cellphone. At the time, Azusa police were not equipped with bodycams.Â
Joseph Iniguez and George Gascon attend Reform L.A. Jails Summit + Day Party: Mental Health Matters on November 09, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Patrisse Cullors)
“Without body worn cameras, more innocent citizens would be subjected to false arrests and defamation,” Jonas said.Â
In the video, Iniguez tells officers, “You’ve pulled over the wrong person, let me tell you.”
“This is not right,” he says. “This is why when they talk about law enforcement and like our interactions with law enforcement – he did the right thing tonight, and drove me. We were at a wedding.”
After handcuffing the driver, the officer told Iniguez he was under arrest as well. (Azusa Police Department)
Iniguez also urged the officers to check his license plates, which could have revealed to them that he worked for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
“Run our plates, and see what you find,” he said. “Honestly. I’m not saying anything, just see what you find.”
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He admits to drinking at the wedding and repeatedly interrupts the officer who is attempting to question the fiance.
Also during the encounter, Iniguez urges his fiance not to cooperate with the officers, a potential violation of DA policy and state law.
An officer escorts George Gascon’s right-hand man Joseph Iniguez into a cell after a 2021 stop for public intoxication. (Azusa Police Department)
Iniguez sued Azusa over his arrest, alleging a federal civil rights violation, and received a $10,000 settlement, described by critics as a “nuisance payment,” last year.
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According to Jonas, Iniguez donated the payout to “a nonprofit that advocates for modern approaches to constitutional policing.”
On Tuesday, the Azusa Police Department said in a statement that its officers fully complied with state law and internal policies.
Iniguez was accused of repeatedly interrupting an Azusa police officer who was trying to question his then-fiance after a traffic stop. (Azusa Police Department)
“City of Azusa and Chief [Rocky] Wenrick stand firmly behind our employees and the decisions made during [Iniguez’s] arrest,” the department said.
Gascon’s office declined to comment on the matter.
Iniguez also came under fire in recent weeks after the district attorney’s office said it would remove the two lead prosecutors on a child murder trial from the case before sentencing over an apparent conflict of interest – involving Teran. He later backtracked, and they remained on the case after it was transferred to a unit Teran had no connection to.