The commission was set up by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to “improve public transparency and accountability” in the sheriff’s department, according to its website. “Many reports indicate that there are still gangs of deputies, but” their extent and impact are unknown, “the commission said in a statement. Investigators will look at how many gangs are currently operating, their impact on the community, and assess whether the sheriff’s current policies are effective, the team said. According to California statutes, law enforcement gangs are a group of officers who identify themselves with a name and a symbol of some type and “engage in a pattern of on-duty service that intentionally violates the law or the fundamental principles of professional policing.” The investigation is a “fishing trip and a political theater,” Sheriff Alex Vilanueva said in a statement. “The problem with their announcement is that the COC and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) have already started this investigation, almost three years ago. During all this time, not a single deputy member of the gang has been identified.” the statement added. Gangs have existed in one form or another for the past 50 years, according to the Commission. The gangs “create a shady system of surveillance and leadership” and create a “us-against-them” culture that leads to excessive violence, racial profiling and the imposition of a code of silence, they said. The commission said the gangs were known to have similar or matching tattoos, use hand signals and engage in other rituals similar to street gangs. “Alternate gangs have cultivated and promoted excessive violence against citizens, discriminated against other MPs on the basis of race and gender, and undermined the chain of administration and discipline. Despite many years of documented history, the Department has failed. the gangs. ” said Sean Kennedy, chair of the committee and executive director of the Center for Juvenile Law and Policy at Loyola Law School. A final report will be issued at the end of the investigation and will include suggested policies, leadership and actions needed to address the issue. “As I have stated before, I openly challenge any elected leader, or appointee, to provide me with information and to name persons who can prove to be ‘gang members.’” Villanueva’s statement added. An investigation into the department was launched by the Los Angeles County OIG in early 2022. A letter sent earlier this week by the OIG to Villanueva requesting documents said, “these investigations revealed substantial evidence of a variety of behaviors associated with the definition of “law enforcement gang”. “ Inspector General Max Huntsman responded to CNN via email. “The Office of the Inspector General was set up to tackle corruption after a sheriff and his sub-sheriff went to federal jail for obstructing a lawful investigation in the same way that the current sheriff is obstructing my investigation now,” Huntsman said. “As my staff has documented on our site, LASD is actively protecting these groups and suppressing their research, creating a shadow government that can not be ignored again,” he said. “We welcome the support of the Political Supervisory Committee and the voluntary service of the experienced lawyers they have gathered.”
