The California Attorney General announced the launch of a civil rights investigation on Friday at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, a law enforcement agency that has been at the center of several controversial shootings in recent years and allegations of that gangs of deputies tend to engage in misconduct.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the investigation will seek to determine whether the Sheriff’s Department has been involved “in an unconstitutional policing pattern or practice”.
“There are serious concerns and reports that responsibility and adherence to legitimate policing practices have been suspended at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” he said in a statement. “We are conducting this investigation to determine whether the LASD violated the law or the rights of people in Los Angeles County.”
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The statement did not mention any specific incidents. In a statement, sheriff Alex Villanueva said he looks forward to the investigation and has already requested investigations from the Becerra monitoring department.
“Our Department can finally have an impartial and objective assessment of our operations and recommendations on any areas where we can improve our service to the community,” he said. “During my administration, we have routinely asked the Attorney General’s Office to monitor our investigations, as we will provide immediate access to all information in our possession.”
The California Department of Justice said Becerra, appointed by President Biden to head the United States Department of Health and Human Services, has made no determination on specific complaints or allegations. He noted that the investigation is not a criminal investigation.
“Unlike a criminal investigation into an incident or individual incidents, a standard or practical investigation usually works to identify and, as appropriate, ultimately address potentially systemic violations of the constitutional rights of the wider community by a law enforcement agency. “, the agency said.
In this September 17, 2020, archival photo, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva comments on the murder of 29-year-old Dijon Kizzee, killed by deputies after a fight, during a press conference at the Justice Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The California Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation to determine whether the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was involved in an unconstitutional policing standard or practice, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Friday. January 22, 2021. (AP Photo / Damian Dovarganes, Archives)
The sheriff’s department has made headlines in recent years for a series of shootings involving controversial deputies, including the death of Andrés Guardado. Guardado, 18 years old, security at a body shop, was shot dead five times in the back in June 2020 while fleeing two deputies.
The deputies were on patrol and said they saw Guardado with a firearm. The teenager ran and was shot in an alley. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office considered death a homicide.
A whistleblower within the department testified under oath that the two deputies were rogue police officers and possible members of “The Executioners”, an alleged gang within the department’s Compton station that controlled the station through force, threats, slowness at work and acts of retaliation.
Other gangs made up of deputies have been documented in other county police stations. Villanueva was criticized by leaders for the deputy’s misconduct and an alleged lack of accountability. Some asked for his resignation.
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Other incidents include the arrest of a reporter covering an anti-police demonstration after the ambush of two deputies and allegations that the department covered up a complaint about a deputy who shared photos of the helicopter crash site where Kobe Bryant died.
More recently, the department was examined after the fatal shot by 29-year-old Dijon Kizzee, who died after being shot several times by deputies after a foot chase.
Villanueva accused the county Council of Supervisors of engaging in a “proxy war” against him for “exposing corruption at all levels of the county government”.