Josh Assiff, a 21-year-old Antelope Valley College basketball player, settled his federal lawsuit against Los Angeles County for $400,000 after a September 2021 traffic stop in the Santa Clarita Valley in which a sheriff’s sergeant pepper-sprayed him, called for backup, and had him tased in drive stun mode. No criminal charges were ever filed against him, and the Sheriff’s Department’s own internal review faulted the sergeant on four separate points.
What Happened at the Traffic Stop
Around 7:50 a.m. on September 24, 2021, a traffic sergeant from the Sheriff’s Department’s Santa Clarita Valley station pulled Assiff over. The department said the sergeant cited traffic violations and a suspected odor of burnt marijuana.
The encounter turned physical fast. The sergeant opened the driver-side door, reportedly to keep Assiff from driving off, and a struggle followed. The sergeant used a two-second burst of pepper spray and called for additional deputies. One deputy deployed a Taser, but the cartridge was missing, so the deputy switched to “drive stun mode,” pressing the weapon directly against Assiff’s body.
Assiff was arrested on suspicion of resisting a peace officer and battery on a peace officer. Los Angeles County Superior Court records confirm the arrest never led to prosecution.
What the Lawsuit Alleged
Assiff sued Los Angeles County in August 2022, represented by Laguna Hills attorney Thomas Ferlauto. The complaint alleged he was pulled over because he was “Black in a white neighborhood” and was then “tasered, choked, pepper sprayed, beat and arrested.” He sought damages for economic losses, great bodily injury, and severe emotional distress.
The Sheriff’s Department’s position was that Assiff had committed traffic violations and refused lawful orders. In its later internal report, the department classified that refusal as a “non-department root cause” of the incident.
What the Sheriff’s Department’s Own Review Found
The department produced a Corrective Action Plan identifying four “department root causes” behind the confrontation:
- Detaining Assiff to investigate an unlicensed driver issue, escalating a routine stop.
- Engaging Assiff physically before backup arrived.
- Ignoring Assiff’s request that a supervisor be called to the scene.
- Continuing with the Taser in drive stun mode after the deputy discovered the cartridge was missing, rather than aborting the use of the weapon.
Those findings, from the department itself, cut against any argument that the force used was a reasonable response to a noncompliant driver.
The $400,000 Settlement and the Delay in Payment
The parties reached a settlement in August 2023, with the county agreeing to pay Assiff $400,000. The money did not arrive on schedule. By July 2024, his attorney said the agreement had been “fully executed and delivered” eleven months earlier without payment, a delay attributed to changes in how the county handles liability claims. The Board of Supervisors was expected to formally approve the payout at a meeting in early December 2024.
How This Fits Into LA County’s Payout Pattern
Assiff’s $400,000 is a small figure against the county’s broader spending on Sheriff’s Department litigation. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, the county spent $112 million defending the department against lawsuits, more than five times the legal costs of any other county agency and a 12 percent increase over the prior year. Six of the county’s eight most expensive settlements involved the Sheriff’s Department.
Larger cases have moved through the same board. In November 2022, supervisors approved nearly $50 million across five cases in a single month, including $16.5 million for a man shot and left paraplegic by a deputy in his home and $8 million to the family of Andres Guardado, an 18-year-old shot multiple times by a deputy in 2020. Board Chair Holly Mitchell called the pattern “unacceptable” and urged the department to develop corrective action plans.
The Sheriff’s Department has said most incidents in recent settlement reports occurred more than three years ago and that deputy-involved shootings and use-of-force incidents have decreased. It has pointed to updated policies, upgraded training and technology, and increased accountability measures as evidence of reform.