Deputy Ruled Guilty of Excessive Force

A federal jury has found that a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy used excessive force during a confrontation with a detainee at the North County Correctional Facility in Saugus.

Javier Rocha, 29, charged in his civil damage suit that Deputy David Sameyah pulled him out of a line of inmates waiting to enter the jail library March 17, 1999, then took him into a room where he kicked and beat him. Sameyah testified during the trial that he did nothing more than administer a routine pat-down search of Rocha. Three other deputies and a jail assistant supported his account.

Jurors will consider damages next week after returning their verdict late Friday. Rocha later pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to three years in prison.