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Baca: Video Of LA County Deputy Elbowing Woman's Face 'Disturbing'

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A cell phone video that captured a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy hitting a woman in the face may not be enough to warrant an investigation, sheriff's officials said Wednesday.

KNX 1070's Ed Mertz reports Sheriff Lee Baca called the video taken on a Metro bus "disturbing", but stopped short of calling for any immediate response.

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The video shows a deputy using his elbow to hit the face of a female passenger after she reportedly swore at him and another deputy.

Baca said the incident is under review.

"If policy is violated or common sense is violated, then we need to address it, and if the individual deputy who swung an elbow to the lady is looking at that as a sensible solution, we need to re-train that individual and hold him accountable," Baca said.

While the woman in the video was reportedly causing problems on the bus and is known to have a history of mental illness, "that doesn't justify anything that's wrong", he added.

Still, Baca — who has recently taken responsibility for alleged misconduct by deputies at the Men's Central Jail in downtown L.A. — would not comment on whether the deputy's actions were justified.

"I think we have to look at what his threat level was when that occured, and then from there we can make that determination," he said.

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