18 LA deputy sheriffs facing federal charges

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

Federal officials say 18 current and former Los Angeles County deputy sheriffs saw themselves as being “above the law,” engaging in corruption and civil-rights abuses that included beating inmates and visitors, falsifying reports, and trying to block an FBI probe of the nation’s largest jail system.

The charges were announced at a news conference Monday after 16 of the 18 defendants were arrested earlier in the day.

At least two are no longer working for the department and some of those charged were scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on Monday.

“These incidents did not take place in a vacuum — in fact, they demonstrated behavior that had become institutionalized. The pattern of activity alleged in the obstruction of justice case shows how some members of the Sheriff’s Department considered themselves to be above the law,” U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said.

Sheriff Lee Baca said at a separate news conference that he was troubled by the charges and called it a sad day for his department.

He said the department will continue to cooperate with the FBI and that the arrested deputies who are still employed by the department will be relieved of duty and their pay suspended.

He also defended the department, pointing to reforms since allegations surfaced in 2011, and said the problem wasn’t an institutional one.