2010 Interim Report on Conditions Inside Los Angeles County Jail

Jail In Need Of Systemic Reform And Decrease In Population FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 17, 2011 CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.orgLOS ANGELES – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Southern California (ACLU/SC) today called on the United States Attorney’s Office to launch an independent criminal investigation into last month’s brutal beating by two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies of an inmate at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, part of the Los Angeles County Jail system. The Jan. 24 savage attack on James Parker, detained on a non-violent marijuana charge, was witnessed by ACLU/SC’s Jails Project Coordinator Esther Lim, who is assigned to monitor all county jails, and another inmate. Both observed the two deputies beating Parker for about two minutes while he was lying on the ground limp, motionless and not resisting the deputies in any way. One of the deputies also repeatedly used a Taser against Parker. “It is crucial that the federal government launch an independent investigation immediately,” said Peter Eliasberg, ACLU/SC managing attorney. “A criminal investigation from an impartial outside agency will not only help the inmates but will also help all those deputies who work hard to do their job properly and who should not be painted with the same brush as those who may have violated the law by beating a non-resisting inmate.” Sheriff’s department employees have made groundless public statements challenging the motivation and integrity of Lim, calling into question the impartiality of the LASD. Lim would necessarily be a key witness in any criminal case filed against the deputies and so the statements by sheriff’s department employees could significantly harm any prosecution by the county district attorney that relies on an investigation by the LASD. “It is odd, and indeed troubling, when a law enforcement spokesperson publicly disparages the credibility of a potential prosecution witness,” said Daniel Richman, a professor at Columbia University’s School of Law and former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Such comments can undermine the appearance of impartiality critical to maintaining public trust in the criminal justice system. Moreover, if a prosecutor ends up bringing charges, the defense may try to use the comments to undermine the credibility of that witness, a problem that no prosecutor wants to deal with.” The sheriff’s department has proven itself to be completely unwilling to investigate its own deputies aggressively. The ACLU has received hundreds of complaints over the past two years detailing deputy assaults of inmates similar to what Lim witnessed, dozens of which the sheriff’s department has claimed to investigate. But in each instance, the department has only stonewalled, asserting without presenting a shred of evidence to back up its claims that it has “thoroughly investigated” the complaints before finding them to be false. “The subculture of deputy violence and abuse at the Los Angeles County Jail is extraordinary and unprecedented,” said Margaret Winter, associate director of the ACLU National Prison Project. “It has gone unchecked for so long that deputies apparently feel emboldened to carry out a savage beating in full view of ACLU staff. This signals both the depth of the problem and the urgency of the need for an independent federal investigation, which we believe will be forthcoming.” Lim’s sworn declaration, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California is available online at: www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/declarations-esther-lim-and-christopher-brown-regarding-january-24-2011-beating-twi

Latest ACLU Report Documents Continued Use Of Unjustified Force By Deputies And Lack Of Access To Mental Health Care FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org LOS ANGELES – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Southern California (ACLU/SC) today released a report documenting disturbing conditions and abuses in the Los Angeles County jail system, including excessive and unjustified force by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, retaliation against prisoners for communicating with the ACLU, a lack of access to mental health care and severe overcrowding. The report, based on interviews with dozens of detainees during the first eight months of this year, paints a stark picture of unacceptable levels of violence in the jails, including reports of deputies beating handcuffed prisoners, injuring some so badly that they ended up in intensive care. The report also shows that retaliation against prisoners is an acute problem. Several prisoners have been severely punished for meeting with representatives of the ACLU, which is the court-appointed monitor of conditions inside L.A.'s county jails. This pattern of retaliation results in prisoners being afraid to speak freely with the ACLU about conditions in the jails. "This report makes clear that deputy abuse and retaliation is not limited to a few isolated instances, but is instead a significant problem that has developed over decades and characterizes Men's Central Jail and other jails run by the Los Angeles County sheriff," said Peter Eliasberg, Managing Attorney of the ACLU/SC. "What is even more troubling is that the ACLU has been reporting these problems for a number of years, but they continue to fester or get worse." One prisoner reported being attacked by a group of deputies on his way back from church because he failed to put his hands in his pockets, though his jail-issued clothing had none. Deputies beat him so badly they left him with several broken ribs, a fractured nose and a swollen artery in his brain. Another prisoner told ACLU jail monitors that a sheriff's deputy punched him in the face for having his shirt untucked and asking for a new pair of shoes. "There is a strong link between the massive over-incarceration in the L.A. County jails and the terrifying subculture of deputy violence and abuse at Men's Central," said Margaret Winter, Associate Director of the ACLU National Prison Project. "The cure will require finding safe alternatives to locking up low-risk detainees who are awaiting trial." The report follows a series of troubling outside reports of serious misconduct at the jail. Most recently, a former jailhouse deputy was sentenced to four years in prison for attempting to smuggle drugs inside the jail. And just a month ago, the Office of Independent Review for the County of Los Angeles issued a report uncovering a deliberate and systematic cover-up involving at least 10 deputies who falsified surveillance logs in order to hide the fact that Willie Horton, an inmate with severe mental illness, hung himself in his cell while the supervising deputies were at the jail's gym working out or at a nearby restaurant making a "chow run." Taken together with the ACLU report, these incidents paint a picture of a jail with lax deputy supervision and little accountability that gives rise to negligence, abuse and violence. Today's report was prompted, in part, by the overwhelming response of former and current prisoners to the ACLU's May 2010 report on conditions inside Men's Central Jail. The May report, which covered 2009, provided a broad overview of the overcrowded conditions, woefully inadequate care of those with mental disabilities and deputy on inmate retaliation and violence. Today's report provides an update on those conditions. A copy of today's report is available online at: www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/2010-interim-report-conditions-inside-los-angeles-county-jail The report issued last May is also available online at: www.aclu.org/files/assets/2010-5-5-AnnualReport-JailConditionsatMCJ.pdf