Charges against LA County deputies involved in a fight outside a bar have been dismissed

A federal judge dismissed a case alleging a man was beaten outside a Santa Clarita bar by off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, then conspired with a senior executive to cover up the incident.

In the lawsuit, a resident of Valencia, Parker Seitz, alleges that off-duty deputies Randy Austin and Nicholas Hernandez, and a third man attacked him outside a bar called the Break Room in late November 2024. Seitz said the men attacked him, and that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and deputies violated his civil rights, interfered with his civil rights, and interfered with his civil rights.

The incident allegedly left Seitz with a broken jaw, a punctured lung and a broken bone.

But the district’s attorneys argued in court that Seitz was actually the abuser.

Seitz’s attorneys said they were disappointed with the decision and “will continue to seek justice.”

“Mr. Seitz and his family, as we’ve said before, have been longtime supporters of law enforcement, and they continue to be, but they expect to be held accountable for the attack and the events that followed,” said attorney Josh Stambaugh.

District attorneys and deputies did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

In a complaint filed in California’s Central District court on August 25, Seitz also alleged that deputies and a captain in the sheriff’s North Patrol Division tried to stop and prevent him and his father from reporting the incident.

But US District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner dissented in Wednesday’s ruling, finding that Seitz and his attorneys had not shown how his 1st Amendment rights were violated. Klausner also ruled that some of the actions Seitz’s lawyers argued were intended to intimidate him instead appeared to be “routine law enforcement cooperation.”

Klausner dismissed all remaining allegations against the county, deputies and the court.

The ruling bars Seitz from filing another federal lawsuit alleging violations of his civil rights, but his attorneys said they are considering an appeal, and intend to file another suit in district court.

The incident happened on 28 Nov. after Seitz and two friends visited a Santa Clarita bar. In the complaint, Seitz alleges that Austin, Hernandez and a third man began harassing and harassing her outside after the bar closed, “including repeatedly reaching for the sunglasses that were sitting” on her head.

Hernandez allegedly hit the glasses on Seitz’s head, and a fight broke out. The argument stopped briefly, but the complaint alleges the fight resumed after Austin “suddenly and without reason” knocked Seitz to the ground.

But in a motion to have the case dismissed, district attorneys say Seitz started the fight and that surveillance video of the altercation outside the bar shows he threw the first punch.

“The evidence confirms him [Seitz] he was an abuser,” read that in court.

The filing also states that the video shows Seitz crossing the street after the altercation ended, running to confront Hernandez and Austin a second time.

Seitz’s lawyers, however, argued that the video supported their version of events.

“This video, submitted to federal court, clearly shows that our client was brutally beaten,” Stambaugh said in a statement. “We look forward to presenting our evidence to the jury.”

Seitz also stated that in his complaint the sheriff’s officials tried to stop him from reporting the incident, pointing to the phone call made by the then Captain. Justin Diez the day after the fight with Seitz’s father.

The complaint alleges that Diez called Ryan Seitz, his friend, to inform him about the fight. Diez – now commander of the Sheriff’s Department – allegedly suggested that the department was understaffed and would “make sure [the] the criminal investigation will end.”

Parker Seitz says that the call was made to prevent him and his father from reporting the incident, saying that his father “was afraid that his son would be prosecuted and that he would be charged.”

But in his ruling Wednesday, Klausner ruled that Seitz and his attorneys did not present “substantial allegations as to why the phone call would affect the plaintiff.”

Even though the phone call was threatening, the judge wrote in his decision, he was not convinced that such an announcement “would prevent the average conservative from exercising his First Amendment rights.”

The Sheriff’s internal investigation into the incident is ongoing, a police spokesman said Friday.

“The Department expects all employees to behave appropriately and respectfully, whether they are at work or not,” according to a statement issued by the department. “The Department has established policies and procedures that clearly set forth the standards of conduct required of all employees. These guidelines are in place to ensure accountability, maintain public trust, and maintain the Department’s reputation.”

Austin and Hernandez have been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the investigation, said a spokesperson for the department.