A Glendale police officer accused of kicking a juvenile shoplifting suspect in the head during a struggle about three years ago at the Glendale Galleria pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a felony assault charge.
Gonzalo Zendejas, 39, was charged June 3 with one count of assault by a public officer involving the June 5, 2021, incident, as police tried to detain the juvenile, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Aside from that charge, the then-17-year-old boy involved in the incident filed a civil case against the Glendale Police Department, which, according to his attorney, Antoine Williams of Williams and Seemen, “resolved favorably” for the boy.
In a statement released shortly after the case was filed, the Glendale Police Department said that the filing stemmed from a struggle with one of the shoplifting suspects, who resisted when officers tried to detain him inside a store, and that “officers used force to subdue the male and arrested him.”
As shown in video footage from the incident that circulated on news outlets as well as on social media, three of the four officers involved in the incident were not in uniform and Williams said his client was unaware of their status as officers when they began attempting to detain him.
“Due to the details surrounding the incident, the Glendale Police Department immediately began an internal investigation. All officers involved in the use of force were placed on administrative leave,” according to the department’s statement.
“Simultaneously, the Glendale Police Department requested the assistance of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office for a thorough and transparent review of the incident, including any potential criminal actions.”
The department said that its “internal administrative investigation remains ongoing, as the outcome was pending the completion of the criminal investigation,” and that it has provided the district attorney’s office with all reports, statements, audio and video to “be fully transparent and assist in a complete and thorough investigation of the facts and evidence surrounding the incident.”
Zendejas was still employed but has been on administrative leave since the incident pending the completion of the criminal investigation, Glendale police said earlier this month.
The department added that three other officers were placed on administrative leave following the incident, “however throughout the course of the past three years and during the course of the investigation, the other three officers were cleared to be released to full duty.”
District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement, “While police officers face an extraordinarily challenging and demanding job while working to protect our communities, this responsibility does not excuse actions that endanger others or undermine public trust. This incident is a serious violation of the duty to serve with integrity and respect.”
Zendejas is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Aug. 28, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial.
He could face up to three years in county jail if convicted as charged, according to the district attorney’s office.
— Kennedy Zak contributed to this report.
