LA County sheriff’s deputy to plead guilty to beating transgender man who flipped him off

A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy accepted a plea deal Tuesday, Dec. 17, after following a transgender man last year for nearly two miles, beating him in a parking lot because he flipped the deputy off and lying about the assault in an incident report.

Joseph Benza III, 36, was charged late Tuesday with one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law and agreed to plead guilty to the felony civil rights offense, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

“It...