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Sheriff Alex Villanueva of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
Patrick T. Fallon /AFP via Getty Images
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Patrick T. Fallon /AFP via Getty Images
Sheriff Alex Villanueva of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
Patrick T. Fallon /AFP via Getty Images
The civilian oversight board charged with keeping tabs on Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is launching an investigation into the prevalence of deputy gangs within the department.
This kind of gang has created decades of problems within the department, and with how it deals with the citizens of Los Angeles, according to the board. Those problems include claims of discrimination, excessive force, and even murder.
“Deputy gangs have fostered and promoted excessive force against citizens, discriminated against other deputies based on race and gender, and undermined the chain of command and discipline,” said Sean Kennedy, the commission’s chair. “Despite years of documented history of this issue, the Department has failed to eliminate the gangs.”
Sheriff Alex Villanueva wrote on Facebook that inquires into his department over alleged gangs are just a “fishing expedition” and political theater.
He says “not one elected official, or their political appointees, have provided me even one name” of one of his deputies involved in gangs.
The investigation is set to take five to six months to complete. The commission aims to determine which stations these gangs operate out of and the scope and impact these groups have had on the community officers are meant to protect.
California law requires law enforcement agencies maintain a policy prohibiting such “law enforcement gangs.” Yet there have been numerous reports that show the existence of these deputy gangs within the city’s sheriff’s department.
California’s legislature has defined law enforcement gangs as “peace officers within a law enforcement agency who may identify themselves by a name and may be associated with an identifying symbol, including, but not limited to, matching tattoos.” Lawmakers have said the problem appears to be most prolific in the Sheriff’s Office.
An investigation by Knock LA published last year detailed the long history of these gangs and how prevalent they still are in Los Angeles. According to Knock LA, “there are at least 18 gangs within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department” and they are allegedly tied to the deaths of at least 19 people, all of whom were men of color. The Department did not speak to the publication for the series.
The announcement of the civilian oversight committee’s investigation comes roughly a year after Knock first published the investigation by Cerise Castle.
“It was quite a full circle moment for me to see that an independent investigation into these deputy gangs is being pursued,” Castle told NPR of the news.
An investigation into the LASD was also launched by the county’s inspector general earlier this year.
In a letter sent to Villanueva earlier this week, LA County Inspector General Max Huntsman demanded documents from the department still owed to investigators.
In this letter, Huntsman said there are at least 41 Los Angeles County deputies that have been identified as being tattooed members of the Banditos or Executioners gangs.
Castle’s reporting includes a database of names of deputies reportedly involved in these gangs.
Since her project was first released, Castle said she has seen multiple occasions where Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies, along with the gangs they are a part of, “take egregious actions” against civilians in the city.
“Many stories do not make it into the news,” she said.
Her investigations into LASD deputy gangs continues.
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