San Gabriel Valley : CLAIM FILED

The families of two youths stopped by sheriff’s deputies last weekend in San Dimas have filed a complaint against authorities at the Walnut sheriff’s station, alleging that deputies used excessive force against one youth and humiliated the other, a minor, by pulling down his pants. During a news conference Wednesday called by One-Stop, a Los Angeles-based advocacy group for Latino immigrants, relatives of George Navarro, 21, and an unnamed minor, called on the Sheriff’s Department to pursue civil rights violations against the deputies.

Victor Nieblas, brother of the minor, said the pair was stopped by deputies and handcuffed about 1 a.m. Saturday. Nieblas said the boy’s pants were pulled down around his ankles, and when Navarro protested, deputies smashed his head against a car hood.

Capt. Larry L. Waldie said sheriff’s investigators found the use of force during Navarro’s arrest to be minor and justified because deputies believed he was resisting.

Navarro faces charges of telecommunications fraud for possessing an illegal cellular phone.