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Teen alleges deputy called her an animal during school Lancaster High School clash

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[Screenshots from a video that was widely circulated online depicting the deputy taking the student down to the ground and then restraining her.]
LANCASTER – A teenage girl who was allegedly body-slammed by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy working as a school resource officer at Lancaster High School in 2021 says in new court papers that the deputy called her an “animal” who belonged in juvenile hall.

The plaintiff, born in 2004, is identified only as Jane Doe 1 in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit brought against the county, the Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Daniel Acquilano and the Antelope Valley Union High School District. The plaintiff has been identified in previous media accounts as Mikaila Robinson. Her statements came in a sworn declaration filed by her attorneys on Monday, April 10, with Judge Armen Tamzarian in support of their motion asking that they be allowed to review Acquilano’s personnel records.

“If Acquilano has a history of targeting Black students and/or a history of excessive use of force, that information would be undoubtedly relevant in this case,” the plaintiff’s attorneys state in their court papers. Tamzarian is scheduled to hold a hearing on their motion April 17.

In their court papers in opposition to the motion to produce the deputy’s records, attorneys for the county state that Acquilano “used force against Jane Doe 1 when she refused to give him her cell phone and walked away from him at Lancaster High School.” In her declaration, the plaintiff says she asked the deputy to cite her at the Lancaster sheriff’s station and then take her home rather than to juvenile hall.

“In response, (Deputy) Acquilano said to me, `You’re an animal … and you belong there,”‘ the plaintiff says. “He was referring to me belonging at juvenile hall. I believe he referred to me as an ‘animal’ and sent me, the victim, to juvenile hall because I am Black. I believe he would not call a white person an ‘animal’ and would not have sent a white teenager to juvenile hall who behaved in the same innocent manner as me.”

Although another deputy opposed taking the plaintiff to juvenile hall, Acquilano instructed a colleague to drive for two hours to Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, where she was “booked and put in a jail cell until my mom came to pick me up later in the evening,” the plaintiff says.

Attorneys for the county and the district deny any liability and state that the plaintiff is not entitled to damages, according to their court papers. The incident was recorded on video and occurred Aug. 30, 2021, when the plaintiff was 16 years old.

“After slamming her down, he straddles her face down on the ground, while she is screaming to call her mom,” the suit filed last May 4 states. “The video captures school personnel standing around watching the incident, failing to intervene.” Doe remained face down on the ground for several minutes, pinned and straddled by the deputy, the suit states.

“Horrified and in shock, Jane Doe repeatedly screamed that he get off of her and not touch her,” the suit states. “Jane Doe continued pleading to be allowed to call her mother throughout the assault, but was denied the opportunity to do so.”

The plaintiff returned to school for one day on Sept. 3, 2021, and Acquilano “continued to engage in highly inappropriate conduct by mocking, teasing and harassing her over the attack,” the suit alleges. Doe’s mother was forced to look for alternative education for her daughter through independent study because the district has not removed Acquilano from Lancaster High, the suit states.

Doe was left “physically and emotionally devastated,” the suit states.

Previous related stories:

New claims sought against LA County in deputy body slam lawsuit

Personnel records of deputy who allegedly body slammed student sought

Lawsuit filed on behalf of Lancaster High School student allegedly assaulted by deputy

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81 comments for "Teen alleges deputy called her an animal during school Lancaster High School clash"

  1. They don’t obey them they play victim then they want more free money and they sue . If she would of acted right she would of been fine but she wants to be an animal.

    • Why do they allow you internet cowards to speak lol your a joke let me guess you jump on here to say the things you wish you had the balls to say to there face she was a child a child should not be treated in that manner period ……

  2. Why didn’t she just COMPLY? She had no idea what the officer might do if it was a white person who did not comly.
    How dare her make a racial assumption like that unless she has other issues

    The cop was so right and the animal was so wrong. Who did she think she was telling the officer how to do his job.
    Make beleive the cops are human and go home to a real family and life and don’t need trash like this animal abusing him.

    • “She had no idea what the officer might do…”
      Yes, that’s the problem. We look at a guy in a deputy sheriff’s uniform, with a badge, and we seem justified in thinking that he will obey the laws he is supposedly there to enforce, but we have NO idea what the guy might do. He might attack a student. He might assault a student. Heck, we should be thankful that he didn’t shoot a student.
      I used to sell cars. I got told how to do my job by clueless customers at least a couple times a week. It included them calling me names on a fairly regular basis. Do you think I would have been allowed to assault them?
      Have someone introduce you to the real world, and then drag this abusive cop there.

    • Women in Lancaster and Palmdale have a tendency to lie constantly about males. The media has given them given them inspiration to lie because they’re females, with all the one-sided cases they cover. From Harvey Weinstein to Berny Epstein. Even Tiger Woods was condemned for having too many girlfriends. Jane Doe was doing something wrong at school and she lied about that innocent officer.

  3. The problem is more: why there needs to be Police Officers or Deputys present in Schools! So, if she broke a rule in the hallway by having her cell phone in hand possibly using it ….does that require Officer to physically take her down to the ground face first and sit atop her backside while restraining her? …NO! She did not strike out at him or swing on him…why so much excessive use of force? And then she returns to School one day and the same Officer verbally attacks her about the incident ? Who is the [removed] adult in this. Lack of restraint is what the Officer is guilty of in the emotional terrorizing of her. He’s guilty of all that he’s done! No example of adult leadership here….bad on the Officer, the Schools Policy on this and the School Board for allowing such criminal restraints.

    • First and foremost there are officers in almost all districts in California. There are two sides to every story.

      • two sides to every story and obvious cultural stereotypes that also came into play.

        She’ll be another loud mouthy moronic adult soon

  4. Just think if only she would have done what she was told, instead of being a Animal!!, Act a Fool, and always play the victim!!!

  5. Solution to all this, when an officer tells you to do something you comply , that is the key word here “comply” , if there’s any untrue here you can take care of it later BUT DONT ACT LIKE AN ANIMAL!!!, try to “act” like a young female so these things don’t happen
    Kids lie most of the time, I don’t believe officers go tackling down minorities

    • I’d be fine with that if anyone showed the slightest interest in making sure cops only give “orders” that they have a legal authority to give. But hardly anyone seems interested in that.

      • Well, it seems like, more so than often, people are more concerned about the bad kids and how the big bad wolf hurt their feelings and called them an animal, just maybe? Back in the day, when society was better than now, kids were a lot less likely to act out because the consequences from their parents would not be pretty. Our society is in a downturn because of excessive everything, and a hands off approach to discipline and the rule of law.

        • You’re right of course. But policing mean words has become Califorina’s highest urgency! And the fact that an incident this petty would command the lead story with 30 follow up comments testifies to that. And when mean words are suspected, they’ll even settle for a liar.

        • The whole “called her an animal and hurt her feelings” bit is a distraction from the main point, which is that a full grown man, armed with a gun, BODY SLAMMED a teen age girl who to date has not even been accused of having committed a crime. That’s the “acting out without consequences” that we all should be concerned about.

          • Sure. There’s 3000 kids at that school that the officer Did Not Slam… Genius.
            Let’s just say he slammed only minority females for nothing. Do the math, that is if you can count.

          • So he should only be charged with one count of assault and battery? Is that your point?

            Frankly, I don’t care that the victim was a minority, or a female. COPS DON’T GET A FREE PASS when they commit crimes. Once more: to date, the girl he assaulted has not even been accused of a crime, much less charged. By his own statements the guy assaulted her “because she walked away” from him.

        • Yeah, that’s why the baton polishers are calling for “you can’t film the cops” laws.

    • Only thing is the whole incident is on video tape…the Officer is the animal in this one.

    • But aren’t we all animals? The ADULT professional slave patrol animal, with a gun, used excessive force and bullied and younger, weaker animal because the adult male animal couldn’t do what he accused her of not doing, CONTROLING himself.

    • Do you think that a male officer has the right to touch & straddle a teenage girl? You sound like a racist anyways

      • Women in Lancaster lie all the time about men. Listen to what Mary said. Women think they are privileged for being female. Their best weapon is lying about men. Lucky for men there are facts that that expose the lies women tell. She’s lying about that police officer.

        • Bring back segregation and all the lies will stop. Male schools/female schools. Male officers in male schools and female officers in female schools.

        • There’s video of him assaulting her, and the fact is that she has not been charged with, or even accused of, a crime. I know the baton polishers are always willing to go with ‘must have been resisting arrest,’ but as it happens there was no arrest being made. There was a conversation that did not go the way the large man wanted it to go, so his solution was to attack the smaller girl.

          No matter what you claim about ‘privileged females,’ are you really sure you want society to devolve into ‘might makes right’? I mean, I’m mostly game, but I am a pretty large human and have experience with that kind of society. I think most people are far more comfortable with the rule of law.

    • Race is definitely a factor in this case. The officer is Hispanic and the female student is Black. Until you have walked in our shoes and understood how RACIST these deputies are, then you need to keep your mouth closed. No matter if she complied or not, a young female student shouldn’t have been treated like this and called names. Lucky for him I wasn’t her dad and this happened to my child. A lawsuit would have been the afterthought after an ass kicking!!!

      • Heaven forbid she had to act like a real human being and cooperated so the situation didn’t escalate into force…I truly believe that certain groups of individuals purposely do not cooperate with law enforcement in hopes that it will escalate into something they can attempt to sue to receive money..it’s not about common sense or proper decorum. Just blatant disregard or respect for law enforcement.

        • You are in fact ridiculously misguided it’s not the child responsibility to de escalate a situation because she is a child. Like you were and you didn’t do everything your told. You sound ridiculous. Because if you are on a call with your child and they’re in the school and and they are told her to put it away if she got bodyslam you’ll be the first one in school in your flip-flops in boys shorts scream to high hell

  6. Is time to stop this nonsense, these people are only after the money in most cases they are the aggressors. These kids are only fallowing the exemple from their parents. Just take a little look on any social media video they out of control because in most cases they win big money suing the system.

    • I was brought up to obey the police. If one told me to stand on my head I would.
      Why is being black an automatic free pass? Mind the cops and to forget the drama.

    • Following thier parents lead huh. You are racist

      Furthermore it’s not that people look for ways to sue the system, but when the system is not following it’s on line of conduct, then the system gets punished. Plainly states, NOBODY IS BIGGER THAN THE PROGRAM

    • That’s false most cases are ruled as the officer didn’t do anything wrong and have Qualified immuninty the small percentage of case you see won are due to the fact they did win. Why would they report about lost cases. That would change the narrative they placed in your sheep brain come on do better and if the officer was able to be Manipulated by the young girl into assaulting her so that she get a pay day he doesn’t belong as an officer anyway so your argument is flawed from the start

      • Although “baton polisher” certainly has potential, badge licker slides across the tongue a little easier.

        • Referring to the baton recognizes that many badge lickers get extra excited when cops use excessive force. As an example, the usual clown car of commenters defending this cop over calling the girl an animal are a lot less enthusiastic than they were on the story about him body slamming her.

    • He doesn’t normally comment outright. But instead swoops in and bashes other people’s comments.

      • Try making comments that aren’t dumb and maybe they won’t get bashed. Or maybe try commenting about the subject instead of just obsessively talking about me…most likely to yourself.

    • That makes no sense because you’re assuming that this child has the ability to construct to invent a scenario where she manipulates an officer ito assaulting her in order for her to get a payday if that’s the case the officer shouldnt be a police officer in the first place because he let a 14 your girl manipulate him into lose this job you sound ridiculous do better.

    • No one has to give their phone to the police unless they have a search warrant, nor do you have to talk to the police. My question is, was she being legally detained, or under arrest? I don’t think so according to the article. Was she committing a crime. I don’t see that being the case either. I support the police, but it seems this cop was very unprofessional. Why hold her down, unless she is being handcuffed, and how long does that take? Do I trust the media? Nope. Police? Sometimes. A teenager pulling the race card? Definitely not.

  10. That’s right blame the child, when we all know that doing a job that you’re paid to do and how you was placed their to protect them all one word “professionalism”

      • You have an extremely poor grasp of the English language. You know nothing of sentence structure. Somehow, you were able to summon enough powers of evil in order to convey your racist beliefs! I know. Your mad about being unapologetically inbred. You’re lashing-out at the wrong people.

        • ” Your mad about being unapologetically inbred”.

          LMAO. Love a good insult.

        • Good job! Fight name calling with more name calling and insults. Sentence structure doesn’t help when your whole comment shows how hypocritical you are.

        • The ignorant live among us. They are easy to spot as they self-identify.

          Some wear red MAGA hats. Have you ever heard a MAGA republican say anything thoughful or intelligent. I’ll give you a million dollars if you can show me one.

    • What does Trump and building a wall have to do with a big ass police officer, sitting on a little 16 year old girl? This is the type of ignorance that we have to face being who we are as a people and proves why things in the world will not change. This comment proves that we are not done with racism in America but merely scratching the surface of it. These types of people need to held accountable for their poisonous beliefs and actions!

      • OK, so what kind of cops would be more appropriate for teens ? It seems that most cops are fuel grown men. If they were any less than full grown I don’t think they would be as effective. Also calling someone an animal doesn’t sound racist to me.

        • How about cops that obey the laws they are paid to enforce? That would be great for teens, and everyone else.

        • Now he may not be using it as a term of racism with everyone else in the comments definitely are so you see how feeds into a narrative as a dog whistle

      • Well, it’s not unintelligent! Yes, it’s off the subject, but that makes sense. Anyway, I have no sympathy for any of the students anymore. I don’t care if the police threw her to the ground. There obviously was a reason for it. And that young adult saying, “Take your hands off of me.” Well, if she didn’t act like an “animal” like he said she did, then hands would have been off! Act stupid, you get a bad reaction.

  14. Steroid-crazed law enforcement males should be allowed to attack and beat up 16 year old female children.

    • Excessive force0 tolerance he nos law studyed-& past rite he needs 2 have badge taken sued 4 damages,& sit n wait for his turnat G.R..office at mc athor park til only takes 45 days for app. To be processed & NO pention

      • What language are you writing here? You demonstrate the precarious state of our educational system. Heaven help America.

          • Nah, not a bigot. Just a grammar nazi, language scold, unrepentant editor, and obnoxious pain in the @$$. That was a zero after “force”.

            She’s lucky I’m not her English instructor! That would cost her 20 years of hard labor building coherent sentences.

  15. AN ANIMAL..?

    SHE NEEDS TO BE AWARDED SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS FOR HER PAIN AND SUFFERING FOR SURE…

    HOW AWFUL FOR HER THE POOR THING…

    ONLY HAPPENED TO HER BECAUSE SHE IS BLACK…

    HOW SAD…

    SIGH…

    ***

  17. I recall this incident. There was video of it. She was most certainly acting like the deputy described. “An animal.”

      • So buy your account if you were doing the same thing because you were having a bad day did they give the right for anybody to assult you. The difference is either they both are having bad days and have a smart attitudes he is the adult in the situation he has 20+ Years on that child As a man I find his actions to be on Disgusting as a fellow person who’s worked in law-enforcement I find his actions unprofessional he dropped the ball