A report by the ACLU National Prison Project and the ACLU of Southern CaliforniaSeptember 2011

Cruel and Usual Punishment:

How a Savage Gang of Deputies Controls LA County Jails

 

 

PRINCIPAL AUTHORS

Sarah LiebowitzACLU Foundation of Southern California, Jails Project Peter EliasbergLegal Director, ACLU Foundation of Southern CaliforniaMargaret WinterAssociate Director, ACLU National Prison ProjectEsther LimACLU Foundation of Southern California, Jails Project Coordinator

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 II. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................2III. ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................3 A. Violence in the Los Angeles County Jails ....................................................3 B. Reports of Deputy-on-Inmate Violence ....................................................10 1. Reports by Civilian Witnesses ..............................................................10 2. Reports by Inmate Victims .....................................................................12 3. Reports by Inmate Eyewitnesses ..........................................................14 C. Pitting Inmates Against Other Inmates ......................................................16 D. Threats of Violence ........................................................................................17 E. Deputy Gangs Foment Violence Against Inmates ....................................17 and Against Other Deputies F. Cover-ups .........................................................................................................18 1. Civilian Accounts of Deputies Covering .............................................18 Up Deputy-on-Inmate Attacks 2. Inmate Accounts of Deputies Attempting to .....................................19 Cover Up Deputy-on-Inmate Attacks 3. The LASD’s Transparently False Denials That There ......................20 is a Problem Of Deputy-on-Inmate ViolenceIV. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................22 V. ENDNOTES ..............................................................................................................23