Compton Mayor Aja Brown shared a story about an encounter last year with Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies — one that she said was not unique among residents of her city.
After she was pulled over for allegedly failing to “stop at the limit line” at a red light, she said, deputies swarmed her car within seconds and searched Brown and her husband for drugs as their infant daughter sat in the back seat.
The mayor is among many there who have spoken out in recent months to demand changes in the way Compton is policed. The debate comes at a pivotal moment for both the city, which is rebounding after decades of violence and economic decline, and the Sheriff’s Department, which is under growing scrutiny over how it patrols predominately nonwhite communities such as Compton.
“Everyone deserves justice, especially when it comes to … law enforcement that taxpayer dollars are paying for,” Brown said. “We deserve some accountability.”
Read the full story on LATimes.com.