Forty-seven Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials were added Monday as nominated defendants in a lawsuit over the existence of a “criminal gang” of delegates called the Banditos at the East LA Department.
The new defendants represent a significant extension of the civil rights and harassment lawsuit that was first filed two years ago, and previously nominated only four former deputies and Los Angeles County. This is on behalf of eight delegates who accused a group of colleagues of being members of a ‘gang’ that violates the civil rights of delegates who do not support them with a campaign of harassment and physical attacks.
According to the plaintiff’s attorney, Vincent Miller, the new defendants include two commanders, three captains, two lieutenants and 41 deputies. It is believed that thirty of these people are bandits, collaborators or prospects for the gang, he said. Twenty-four are currently stationed in Eastern LA. The FBI has launched an investigation into these and other alleged cliques in the department.
The new court case does not hold specific allegations with each new defendant. Instead, the accused face the accusations previously set out in the case. The allegations accuse the Banditos and their associates of harassing fellow deputies who do not support them and creating a hostile workplace. and the presentation of evidence.
According to the lawsuit, the department outside the Banditos was ‘permeated by a criminal gang culture’. Those who are not Banditos, according to Miller, can fail to stop them or cover up their transgressions.
“You have people investigating bureaucracies for internal affairs,” Miller told LAist. “You have people who have been placed in leadership positions who have basically been there to hide and diminish the scale of the deputy gang problem.”
One of the newly named defendants is Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s security chief, and another is his manager, according to Miller.
The sheriff’s department declined to comment on the allegations.
Instead, he issued the following statement: ‘Sheriff Alex Villanueva was the first sheriff in the history of LASD to institute a strict policy banning cliques and subcultures, and he repeatedly demonstrated his commitment to transparency and accountability. ”
In August, according to the statement, Villanueva announced a zero-tolerance policy regarding deputy cliques / subgroups that misbehave.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff’s Association, which represents a number of defendants, declined to comment until he saw the new court documents.
LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, representing East LA, said in an email:It is shameful to hear that the number of deputy gang members, specifically from the Banditos, has increased and now includes those who have enabled and concealed their misconduct. It should be noted that policies that allegedly prohibit delegates from joining gangs will not solve the problem. ”
Solis added: “These are delegates who are wreaking havoc and damage and only traumatizing our residents instead of helping and serving them, saying it is time for the department to” take seriously the elimination of gang membership. “
The extensive lawsuit comes amid growing scrutiny of how Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who began his career at East LA Station, addressed the long-standing problem of deputy subgroups. Some of these groups are accused of violence and harassment of residents as well as colleagues. They are called ‘gangs’ because they wear matching tattoos, work in secret and have initiation rituals.
The Bandito tattoo is a skeleton with a giant mustache wearing a sombrero with a bandier and pistol.
A report by Loyola Law School found 18 deputy gangs operating within the department. The author, Professor Sean Kennedy, said at least seven remain active.
This story has been updated.
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