A woman recording law enforcement officials outside a home in South Gate appeared stunned when an armed U.S. marshal approached her, snatched the phone she was using from her hands, threw it to the ground and kicked it.
Another witness recorded the encounter between the woman and the marshal.
A spokesperson for for the U.S. Marshals Service told the Daily Dot the video prompted an investigation.
"We are aware of the video and the incident is under review,” she said. “We're still looking into it."
There were reportedly three U.S. Marshals Service agents at the scene investigating a “biker gang meeting” at a nearby bar.
The Los Angeles Times identified the woman whose cellphone was smashed to the ground as Beatriz Paez, 34. Paez told the newspaper she happened upon the federal law enforcement operation and began recording.
Paez said the officers had detained several people but soon after she pulled out her phone, they started letting people go.
“It’s our responsibility to take care of each other,” Paez told the LA Times. “It’s our constitutional right to film.”
>>Click here to watch LA Times video report on mobile. WARNING: Profanity is heard at the end of the video.