A viral video of a Hemet arrest is now at the center of a criminal case and an internal review, after an on-duty encounter left a woman with serious injuries and a local officer facing assault charges.
The clip, which recently spread online, appears to show a Hemet police officer using force during an arrest. The department has confirmed it is looking into the video, and the renewed attention has turned back to a July 23 arrest that preceded the criminal case against one of its own, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles.
In an August 17, 2023 filing, the Riverside County District Attorney charged Officer Jacob Hobson with one count of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and two counts of assault by a peace officer under color of authority. Prosecutors allege the force used during the arrest caused a significant brain injury. The Hemet Police Department has said Hobson was placed on administrative leave while the department conducts its internal review alongside a county task force investigation.
Police say the encounter happened behind a gas station in the 1700 block of West Florida Avenue in Hemet, where officers were trying to arrest a woman on an outstanding felony warrant. Coverage from KESQ reported that the woman was hospitalized with major head trauma and that some of the warrant records were sealed because the case was expected to draw heavy media interest.
Hobson later pleaded not guilty at an August 21, 2023 arraignment and was held on $65,000 bail, according to KNX/City News Service. Additional dates, including a settlement conference, were placed on the Riverside County court calendar, as noted by Follow Our Courts.
The case unfolds as Hemet police find themselves under broader scrutiny. The California Department of Justice has launched an independent review under AB 1506 of an officer-involved shooting in Hemet on July 4, 2024, that resulted in a death. State officials say AB 1506 investigations are conducted independently and, once finished, are handed off to the Department of Justice's Special Prosecutions Section, adding another layer of context to ongoing debates over local use-of-force incidents.
Legal Status And Next Steps
The criminal charges in case BAF2300849 remain pending in Riverside County and include an allegation that the force used caused great bodily injury, according to the district attorney's filing. On the administrative side, Hemet PD's internal review is moving forward in parallel with the Force Investigations Detail Task Force that is led by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, as officials have outlined.
Hemet PD told FOX 11 Los Angeles it is actively reviewing the viral footage and has asked anyone with information about the incident to contact investigators. Prosecutors and sheriff's investigators will determine how the criminal case proceeds as it continues through the court system.
