LA Sheriff’s Department Admits Hiring 80 Problem Officers; May Not Be Able to Fire Them

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) has admitted
that they hired 80 officers in 2010 knowing that they had problems
in their past including misconduct at other law
enforcement agencies, solicitation of prostitutes, falsifying
police records and unlawfully discharging firearms. The department
is still figuring out what it will do with the officers, but

Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers told the Los Angeles Times that
they may not be able to fire these officers:

Rogers said sheriff’s officials are considering
terminating some but likely won’t be able to legally fire employees
for misconduct that sheriff’s officials knew about when they hired
them. What’s more realistic, he said, is moving
the problem hires to less sensitive positions, giving them more
training and putting them on administrative monitoring to limit
future misconduct.

The admission comes on the heels of a LA Times
investigation, which reviewed taped interviews with LASD
applicants and hiring investigation files that were leaked to the
paper. The union that represents LASD
deputies tried
in September 2013 to stop the records from being
unveiled because the paper and reporter
possessed ”stolen property.”

On December 9, The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged 18
officers with civil
rights and corruption violations including conspiracy, obstruction
of justice and making false statements. From the
U.S. Attorney’s Office:

LOS ANGELES – Five criminal cases that charge a
total of 18 current or one-time deputy sheriffs of various ranks
were unsealed today as part of ongoing and wide-ranging FBI
investigation into allegations of civil rights violations and
corruption involving members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department. Four grand jury indictments and one criminal complaint
allege crimes that include unjustified beatings of jail inmates and
visitors at downtown Los Angeles jail facilities, unjustified
detentions and a conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation
into misconduct at the Men’s Central Jail.

For more on the LASD and misconduct in the department,
read and watch LA
County Sheriff’s Hassle Photographer, Trample Constitution, Get
Lauded by Bosses: