( CNN ) A California woman who was recording police activity said she was terrified when a deputy U.S. marshal walked toward her , grabbed her cell phone out of her hands and smashed it with his foot . The incident was recorded by another woman with a smartphone camera across the street . Beatriz Paez filed a complaint Wednesday with police in South Gate , just south of Los Angeles . However , the police do n't have authority over marshals . Paez is also considering a lawsuit . Paez said she was out walking Sunday when she noticed what looked like an arrest several houses up the street . She stood on the sidewalk , recording with her phone . The woman said marshals asked her to stop recording but she told them she had a right to do so . The second woman who was recording had focused on the interaction between Paez and the marshals , who Paez said told her to stop recording . At one point on the video you can hear Paez say , `` You 're making me feel unsafe . I have a right to be here . '' Paez said she was a few homes away from the center of the police activity . In the video , an officer with a rifle walks in her direction . `` I was terrified . I was getting really scared , '' she said . As he gets close , the marshal then runs a few steps toward her and wrestles the phone from her hands . Paez said he stomped on it then kicked it away . It is unclear what happened to the video she recorded . The U.S . Marshals Service said it is reviewing the incident . Janice Hahn , the U.S. representative for Paez 's district , told CNN 's `` Erin Burnett OutFront '' that she had written a letter to outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder . Hahn said she wants a federal investigation into the actions of the officer . She called the marshal 's actions illegal because Paez was n't hindering an investigation or arrest .
Beatriz Paez was walking Sunday when she saw police activity . She says marshals told her to stop recording but she refused . The U.S . said it is looking into incident after man took her phone and smashed it .