06.09.2021 | 3:00 PM | GARDEN GROVE – A police officer was charged Wednesday with threatening and battering homeless individuals while on-duty.
Kevin Dinh, a 12-year veteran of the Garden Grove Police Department, is facing charges stemming from two incidents in 2020 where he is accused of battering homeless individuals who were detained.
The first incident, on September 20, 2020, occurred when Dinh responded to reports of homeless individuals refusing to leave the front of a restaurant.
When he arrived Dinh is accused of striking one of the individuals while holding his hands above his head and then twisting the man’s hand.
In the same incident Dinh is accused of threatening to knock out a second man’s teeth if he saw him again.
During a second incident, on October 18, 2020, Dinh is alleged to have hit a detained individual while investigating a package theft. Prosecutors say Dinh grabbed the handcuffed man’s hair and pulled it but that the individual was later uncuffed and released.
Both incidents were documented by body-worn camera and came to light when a colleague reported Dinh’s actions.
Dinh has been placed on administrative leave since the incidents were reported.