A young woman was beaten and arrested by Huntington Park police on July 4 when a fire broke out in the apartment she shared with her parents.
(Video provided by Adriana Hernandez)
Adriana Hernandez, 27, told ABC7 the incident occurred when a garage fire spread to the family’s apartment. Hernandez could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said firefighters received a call about a structure fire in the 6400 block of Templeton Street at 9:33 p.m. The fire also prompted a response from the Huntington Park Police Department.
Hernandez told the station she tried to contact her father, who was trying to rescue photography equipment he needed for his work from the burning building, but she was stopped by a female police officer. During a brief scuffle, the same officer struck her in the face.
Adriana Hernandez’s home after the fire.
(Adriana Hernandez)
Adriana Hernandez showed off a dark area she said was the result of a beating by Huntington Park police.
(Adriana Hernandez)
“She didn’t care. She just grabbed my shirt, shredded my rosary, and then started hitting me three times in the face,” she told the station.
Cellphone video shows Hernandez calling for her father in Spanish before being pushed away by a policewoman. Seconds later, the same officer struck Hernandez in the face.
Hernandez said she was taken into custody for resisting arrest.
The Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but said in a statement to ABC7 that the incident “is under administrative review to determine the full facts and circumstances leading up to the use of force to ensure compliance with Police Department policy.”
Adriana Hernandez shows the dark area where Huntington Park police officers beat her during a house fire in Huntington Park, Thursday, July 4, 2024 .
(Adriana Hernandez)
Hernandez said the incident was distressing.
“It felt like everything was taken away from me so quickly and it wasn’t even my fault,” she told the station.
in a GoFundMe accountHernandez said she was an only child and worked at In-N-Out to help her parents while studying at East Los Angeles Community College. She said the fire, which she blamed on “outdated electrical wiring,” left her family homeless.
Adriana Hernandez (right) and her family in front of the Fourth of July fire.
(Adriana Hernandez)
“In addition to our challenge, a police officer used excessive force against me. He unreasonably hit me three times,” she wrote. She wrote that the funds raised will help the family “address homelessness” and help cover the loss of her father’s equipment.
