It was the early morning hours of May 4, 2020, on Prairie Avenue near the Forum in Inglewood. Sheriff's deputies had pulled over Christopher Baily who, according to his attorney’s, was on his way home from work where he sifted mail for a U.S. Postal service contractor.
Baily -- through his legal counsel -- says he complied with all commands, and that after being told to get out of the car, deputies began beating him.
The aftermath was recorded by a passerby on scene.
An unidentified person off-camera is heard saying “I heard he said ‘I want to live.’”
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
Bailey’s attorney is civil rights lawyer Toni Jaramilla.
“He received 64 body and face hits. He was punched 34 times,” Jaramilla said. “Mr. Baily sustained permanent eye damage, and he had his teeth knocked out… he had taser burns to his groin area.”
Baily was taken to the hospital and later charged with resisting arrest, which his attorneys say was later dropped.
While the initial stop was with only two deputies, six more arrived as back up. Of the eight on scene, seven have been named in the civil rights lawsuit filed in federal district court.
“I have multiple surgeries coming up… I have trauma. I really can’t tell you what I'm feeling and what I've been going through,” Bailey said.
“We are here to hold the sheriff's office accountable and to ask District Attorney Gascón to immediately investigate and file criminal charges to each and every one of the deputies,” Jaramillo said.
