The Los Angeles Police Department has violated the due process rights of thousands of city residents by serving them with gang injunctions without first allowing them to challenge those orders in court, according to a federal lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The suit, filed in federal court on Tuesday, seeks to stop the department from enforcing injunctions against people who have not been given a chance to show they aren’t gang members.
The city is currently enforcing 46 separate injunctions against approximately 10,000 people in Los Angeles, according to the lawsuit. The enforcement areas combined make up 75 square miles, or 15% of the city, according to the suit.
“They’re basically subject to parole-like restrictions without any hearing on whether or not they are actually a gang member,” said Peter Bibring, director of police practices for the ACLU in Southern California. “That violates any notion of due process.”
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