Biased Policing at the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Under the Leadership of Sheriff Lee Baca

Exactly 11th months to go

Sheriff Lee Baca is back in the news this week with yet another scandal. In a shocking new report, the U.S. Department of Justice accuses Baca’s department of violating the civil rights of residents receiving public housing assistance in northern LA County.

Among the Justice Department's findings, according to the statement:

• African Americans, and to a lesser extent Latinos, are more likely to be stopped and/or searched than whites, even when controlling for factors other than race, such as crime rates

• The widespread use of unlawful backseat detentions violating the 4th Amendment and L.A. County Sheriff's Department policy

• A pattern of unreasonable force, including a pattern of the use of force against handcuffed individuals

• A pattern of intimidation and harassment of African American housing choice voucher holders by sheriff's deputies

• Inadequate implementation of accountability measures to intervene on unconstitutional conduct has allowed these problems to occur.

LAPD Supervisor Lou Vince is challenging Baca in the Sheriff’s race in 2014. We have heard from him a few times this year on the issues of prisoner abuse and overcrowding in the LA County jails, and now he is expressing his disapproval of the kinds of appalling, discriminatory policing practices that Baca’s department is accused of.

Guest Post from Los Angeles Sheriff Candidate Lou Vince

After an exhaustive two-year investigation, the United States Department of Justice concluded that Sheriff Lee Baca’s Department violated the Constitution and federal laws in its treatment of African Americans, and to a lesser extent Latinos, in public housing in the Antelope Valley.

Officials found a “pattern or practice of discrimination against African Americans in its enforcement of the Housing Choice Voucher Program in violation of the Fair Housing Act,” and now the DOJ is demanding a $12.5 million settlement for the victims.

As the next Sheriff of Los Angeles County, I will ensure that all employees of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will enforce the law consistent with the Constitution of the United States of America. I will ensure that equal protection of the law is guaranteed to everyone. One of the Department’s most fundamental principles will be our commitment to treat all people with dignity, fairness, and respect.

Whenever the actions of members of the Sheriff’s Department are perceived to be, or found to be as in the DOJ investigation, biased, unfair, or disrespectful, the trust of the diverse communities we serve is severely diminished. The ability of the Sheriff’s Department to perform its job is dependent on the public’s approval and trust. As law enforcement officials, we need to maintain the trust and respect of the public in order to be effective at what we do. I will not tolerate any less.

I will not tolerate any discriminatory conduct on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or disability in the conduct of law enforcement activities. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies will not use race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or disability to any extent or degree in conducting stops or detentions, except when engaging in the investigation of appropriate suspect specific activity to identify a particular person or group of individuals.

Sheriff’s Department personnel seeking an individual or group who have been identified in part by their race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or disability may only rely in part on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or disability and only in combination with other appropriate identifying factors. Deputies shall not give race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or disability any undue weight in taking law enforcement action.

Failure to comply with the above policy is a violation of an individual’s constitutional rights and is counterproductive to effective and professional policing. It amounts to biased policing and will be considered to be a serious act of misconduct. As Sheriff, I will demand that all Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department personnel are committed to serving each and every one of the diverse communities in Los Angeles County while protecting the rights of all people.

Justice may be blind, but the residents of Los Angeles County cannot be. The “ostrich optimism” so many have had relative to Sheriff Baca has been rebutted by nearly 16 years of Baca bringing us scandal after scandal. This latest biased policing investigation is just one more reason we need a change in leadership at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.