Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
announced an internal investigation into allegations of routine
police misconduct and brutality against prisoners after several
scandalous incidents were made public. The incidents came to light as
a result of testimony by former sheriff’s deputy Joshua Sather, who
resigned after being ordered by his superior, Bryan Brunsting, to
attack and beat up a mentally ill inmate.
The 23-year old “Honor Recruit”
cited the words of Brunsting preceding the violent action perpetrated
by several deputies at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in
downtown LA: “We’re gonna go in and teach this guy a lesson.” The
deputies then covered up evidence of the beating, according to
Sather.
Sather decided to resign because he
represents the rare individual who is willing to reject the high pay
provided to police to uphold the status quo through violence and
violations of people’s rights. The routine violence unleashed on
prisoners and the cover-up operations are all part of the job for
cops.
The abuse incidents alleged by Sather
represent but a few of the many perpetrated. They include the
eye-opening case of 38-year-old Deputy Gilbert Michel, who was
targeted by an FBI sting operation, revealed in mid-September.
Undercover agents approached the deputy and offered a bribe of $1,500
in exchange for smuggling contraband to an inmate who was an FBI
informant. The contraband included a cellphone, a lighter and a pack
of cigarettes. After he was questioned about his actions, Michel
admitted to his wrongdoing, was placed on leave and subsequently
resigned.
During his interrogation, Michel
implicated himself and other jail employees in four unreported
incidents of use of excessive force against inmates. In an Oct. 9
letter to LA County Mayor Antonovich, Baca addressed these and 78
other allegations presented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
“Sixty-five of these allegations are criminal in nature and will be
prioritized,” he stated.
Sheriff Baca, who is in his third term,
declared in the same statement that the department had formed a
35-person task force to investigate cases of misconduct and
brutality. This task force, if truly effective, has been needed for
years in LA County Jail. But, historically, these kinds of task
forces and committees are set up to serve as pressure valves to let
off steam in a time of scandal, then rendered ineffectual or
eliminated altogether once they are no longer needed by the system.
Aware of this history, many fear that
the measures announced by Baca will not be effective and criticize
him for not having taken effective action earlier. They suggest that
he has either been overseeing or turning a blind eye to the
wrongdoing and acted only after the criminal acts were made public.
Under the system of capitalism, police
are nothing more than a tool of repression against workers and the
poor as exemplified in attacks on peaceful protesters, the ongoing
epidemic of police brutality and the current scandal with LA County
jails.
