'Someone Is Getting Shot. Oh Well,' L.A. Sheriff's Deputy Says, Ignoring Dispatcher [Video]

LOS ANGELES, CA — A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy is in the hot seat after a video was posted online allegedly showing him ignoring a dispatch call to respond to a suspect brandishing a gun.

The department confirmed Thursday that it is investigating Deputy Jeremy Fennell, 26, who was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in January. He has since been relieved of duty, the department said.

In the 51-second video clip, posted to YouTube by his ex-girlfriend, Priscilla Anderson, on Feb. 23, Fennell looks like he was trying to make amends with her while ignoring a radio call.

“She can go f--- herself, OK?” Fennel said when the dispatch radioed a 417, code for a person brandishing a firearm.

Ignoring the call, he then went on to say, pointing to the camera, "I want you, you, you, you."

"Someone is getting shot right now," Fennel continues. "I know I got to go, but I'm not going to because you're mad. Someone is getting shot. Oh well. Oh well. Because I want to make things right with me and you."

It was unclear when the video was recorded, but Anderson posted the video after allegedly trying to get help from the sheriff's Lakewood Station where Fennel is stationed.

“It’s hard to watch but eerily and frighteningly, it’s the tip of the iceberg, and it’s not just this one deputy,” said Ben Meiselas, Anderson’s attorney. “It’s just a kind of sickening abuse of power. It’s really frightening that this is what’s going on in the streets of Lakewood.”

According to Meiselas, Anderson and Fennell dated from fall through early winter, but the relationship quickly became abusive. Anderson claims he held his department-issued gun to her head and threatened to kill her and that he choked her and locked her up. Fennell could not be reached for comment on the allegations.

When Anderson tried to break it off, he sent her countless videos trying to guilt her into taking his calls, she alleges.

“The way he would blackmail her, knowing she was a compassionate person, was that he would threaten to harm the public if she didn’t call back,” Meiselas told Patch.

In the explosive video where he seemingly ignores a shooting, Fennell is implying someone could die because of her.

“Basically the message is someone’s going to die because of you not calling me back,” Meiselas said.

Other videos show him being abusive toward members of the public, and one shows him and another deputy blasting music, joking and recording each other while driving at a high rate of speed on a serious call, said Meiselas.

Anderson claims she reported the abuse and repeatedly called the department’s Lakewood station trying to find out if there was an investigation into her allegations but never got return calls, Meiselas said.

Anderson has since filed for a restraining order. Fennell was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence on Jan. 25 and was released a day later after posting $50,000 bail, according to the sheriff's department.

The sheriff's department issued the following statement regarding the case: "The sheriff's department is aware of the video and is thoroughly investigating the circumstances surrounding the case. Sheriff Jim McDonnell is very concerned about the actions depicted in the video and the Department is taking appropriate action. Deputy Jeremy Fennel was relieved of duty on Jan. 25, 2017, pending the outcome of the investigation.

"The criminal investigation is being conducted by the Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau and is currently being reviewed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Two concurrent administrative investigations pertaining to this incident, and the subsequent discovery of the video postings, are also being conducted by the department's Internal Affairs Bureau.

"The department is monitoring the criminal proceedings closely and will take appropriate additional administrative action when the outcome of the judicial process is determined and has concluded."

McDonnell and the department "expects all of its members to hold themselves to the highest ethical and professional standards at all times," according to the department statement.

"Allegations of this magnitude are disturbing and disappointing, the statement said. They strike the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department at its core as responding to public safety requests and calls for help is what we do.

"Any proven criminal, or other acts of misconduct that violate that public trust will not be tolerated and immediate appropriate remedies will be taken by the department as permitted by law."

Meiselas said he's glad to see that the department is investigating.

“Now that this story has gone viral, we welcome the fact that there is an investigation,” Meiselas added. “We want to make sure and confirm that the sheriff’s department is conducting a thorough invest of the whole Lakewood station and the culture of that station.”

Patch editor Paige Austin and City News Service contributed to this story. Photo via YouTube Screen Shot