A federal judge sentenced six current and former officers from
the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) on September 23
to years-long prison sentences after officers were
found gulity of obstructing an ongoing investigation by the FBI
into civil rights and corruption violations in the Los Angeles
County Jail. From the
Los Angeles Times:
Saying he wanted to send the message that “blind obedience to a
corrupt culture has serious consequences,” a federal judge Tuesday
sentenced six current and former members of the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department to years-long sentences in federal prison.The sentences for the five men and one woman convicted of
obstructing an FBI investigation into the county jails ranged from
21 months for one deputy to as much as 41 months for a veteran
lieutenant.“You broke the vow you made to protect the public and
serve the community,” U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson
said, adding the six had acted to “shield the dirty deputies….
Perhaps it is a symptom of the corrupt culture within the Sheriff’s
Department.”“None of you have shown even the slightest remorse,” Anderson
added.
Defense attorneys repeatedly invoked the idea that the officers
were following orders from higher ranking officials like former
L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca,
who retired after the scandal broke, and former undersheriff
Paul Tanaka,
who is both running to be the new Sheriff in November and is a part
of the FBI’s current investigation.
For more on problems in the L.A. County Jail system
watch, LA County Jail
Officers Charged with Federal Crimes; Jail monitors
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