Kern County's Sheriff Donny Youngblood is defending the seizure of cellphone video of deputies beating David Sal Silva with batons last week in Bakersfield, California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Silva, a father of four, later died at a nearby hospital.
Hours later, detectives confronted two witnesses who videotaped the beating, and seized their mobile phones.
"We still have to secure the evidence, especially when the evidence can tell us whether we did it right or wrong," Youngblood said. He asked the Bakersfield Police Department to analyze the videos.
Silva died on May 8. Deputies said he fought them after they approached him about complains that someone in the area had been intoxicated. Six deputies, a sergeant and two California Highway Patrol officers were there. Silva was beaten repeatedly with batons.
"I saw two sheriff's deputies on top of this guy, just beating him," witness Ruben Ceballos told the Los Angeles Times. "He was screaming in pain, asking for help. He was incapable of fighting back - he was outnumbered, on the ground. They just beat him up."
Coroner's officials have yet to determine the cause Silva's death pending toxicology and other tests, reports said. As of Tuesday afternoon, the deputies involved remain on duty.
"We're following the same protocol, as far as the administrative process is concerned, that we'd follow in similar-type incidents," sheriff spokesman Ray Pruit said.
The investigation is still underway.
David Cohn, an attorney for the victim, said the the confiscation of the tapes raised concerns, making "it makes it look like a cover up. What we're all concerned about is, 'Are these videos going to be altered? Are they going to be deleted?" Cohn said last week that he plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit in Fresno.
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