A congressional subcommittee has requested for a second time that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate allegations of systemic abuses by “criminal gangs” of deputies within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that celebrate shootings and retaliate against whistleblowers.
“The failure to address these deputy gangs not only undermines the safety and trust of the people they are sworn to protect — especially those of color — but also threatens equal justice under the law,” Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wrote Tuesday in a letter to U.S. Atty. Gen. Merrick B. Garland and Asst. Atty. Gen. Kristen Clarke.
The Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties first requested in September 2020 that the Trump administration conduct a probe, but received no response.
The renewed request comes as the California attorney general investigates whether the Sheriff’s Department routinely oversteps unconstitutional lines in its policing and follows a series of reports on the deputy groups, including one commissioned by L.A. County.
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