Accused of beating a man in police custody and later deleting a video of the assault from a witness’ cellphone, a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy was recently charged with assault and evidence tampering.
On July 30, 2019, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies arrested Anthony Wilson for a felony in Lancaster, California. After Wilson had been taken into custody and placed in the backseat of a patrol vehicle, Deputy Nicole Bell allegedly assaulted him for no justifiable reason.
Although one of Wilson’s family members recorded part of the incident on a cellphone, Deputy Bell reportedly deleted the footage from the witness’ phone in an attempt to conceal her crime. The case was filed for warrant on June 4.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that Bell has been charged with one felony count of accessing and altering computer data without permission, altering, planting, or concealing evidence as a peace officer and one felony count of assault by an officer.
“Tampering or destroying evidence tarnishes law enforcement and creates mistrust among the public,” District Attorney Gascón stated in a recent press release.
The case currently remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
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