The Orange County District Attorney’s office has decided to drop criminal charges against Florentino Lopez, a man beaten by two Santa Ana police officers at the start of the month in a violent arrest captured on a viral video.
“Based on the totality of the evidence in the case, including the body worn camera video, we determined that pursuing the probation violation was the most appropriate sanction,” reads a statement from Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s office, Wednesday.
John Kremer, Lopez’s attorney, said he was surprised the case was suddenly dismissed, adding that Lopez is happy the charges were dropped.
“Unfortunately, there is going to be a probation violation hearing in December, based primarily on the charges that were in the prior felony case that was dismissed. So we’re still going to have to fight the case, but in a different format,” Kremer said in a Wednesday phone interview.
“The video is pretty clear what happened, it speaks for itself and I think they realize that – that may be one reason the prosecutors dropped the case because of the video and the public outcry.”
The decision to drop the charges comes weeks after a video went viral of Lopez’s Oct. 1 arrest showing Lopez bent over the front hood of a police car arguing with police officers before one officer throws him onto the street and begins to punch him repeatedly in the head.
A second officer then joins in and holds Lopez’s legs down before two more police officers show up and help restrain him.
According to his Oct. 5 criminal complaint, Lopez was charged with resisting arrest, smoking marijuana near a school, day care or youth center and unlawfully blocking the roadway as a result of the incident. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Lopez is currently on probation for a hit-and-run, carrying a loaded gun and reckless driving.
Days after the video went viral, Santa Ana City Council members unanimously voted to launch an outside investigation into the police officers that beat Lopez – a move that received pushback from police unions leaders last week.
They also voted to release the names of the officers involved and body-worn camera footage of the arrest “if it is legally determined that great bodily injury occurred as a result of the use of force incident.”
Lopez’s criminal complaint identifies the officers by only their last name – Casillas and Benavides.
Kremer said the officers in question are Luis Casillas and Marco Benavides.
Casillas was one of the officers investigated by the state’s department of justice for the police killing of Noe Rodriguez in December 2024 who was carrying a toy gun – an incident that sparked calls for police accountability in the city.
The probe found insufficient evidence to support criminal prosecution of the officers involved, but investigators recommended Santa Ana Police Department reevaluate their firearms training and training on duty to render medical aid.
They also recommended training on continued use of force when a suspect is incapacitated by bullets.
Casillas also faced scrutiny for the killing of Henry Gonzalez, Jr. in January 2025, a 55-year old man armed who held his mother at knifepoint.
An OC District Attorney investigation into the Gonzalez killing found “there is no evidence to prove criminal culpability on the part of Officer Casillas, and there is substantial evidence that his actions were reasonable and justified.”
The OC Register reported Benavides was one of several officers involved in the beating of a 15-year-old armed robbery suspect last year in June.
Edds said the district attorney’s office has not made a decision on “the conduct of the officers, pending the outcome of an independent investigation ordered by the City Council.”
Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento – who represents Santa Ana – publicly said he hopes the District Attorney will look into the incident after the city’s third party investigation.
“His office has been receptive to prosecuting people with minor offenses. I hope that’s applicable to law enforcement when they overstep,” Sarmiento said at the Tuesday OC Supervisors meeting.
“The person who was being detained and arrested was certainly not somebody who was a saint – was talking a lot, was saying a lot of things – but a verbal act does not warrant a physical beating,” he said.
Sarmiento called on Spitzer to hold law enforcement accountable.
“I am certainly hopeful that the district attorney will take a look at this,” he continued. “It’s an important subject matter that the district attorney again should apply equally to folks who are in the public, but also to law enforcement.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org.
