On November 10th, 2023, a US District Court judge unsealed multiple videos from the Los Angeles County jail system as part of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. These videos, recorded between October 2019 and July 2022, depict deputies allegedly using excessive force against inmates. This has spurred calls for further investigation and potential reform within the Department, according to ABC 7.
The Sheriff's Department maintains that these videos, produced under a previous administration, misrepresent their interactions with inmates and do not reflect the reform carried out by current Sheriff Robert Luna. The Department stressed significant to improving culture since the case's inception, as the Orange County Register reports.
Yet, the ACLU points to the ongoing use of dangerous head strikes as proof that the Department's commitments are not being fully upheld. ACLU attorney, Peter Eliasberg noted that these practices will persist as long as deputies believe they can act with impunity..
In a recent report, court monitors disagreed with the justifications for 85% of head strikes condoned by department supervisors. The ACLU has highlighted the potential risks these strikes pose, such as brain hemorrhage, facial fractures, and eye injuries, and their potential to worsen existing mental illnesses.
A particularly shocking video shows two deputies slamming an inmate's head against a window while his hands are restrained behind his back. The incident has been referred to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for potential prosecution.
Other problematic restraint techniques were captured in the videos, including deputies putting their knee on an inmate's neck and the use of a controversial body WRAP. The former method bears a chilling resemblance to the deadly technique used on George Floyd in 2020, while the latter is associated with multiple wrongful death cases in California
Despite the alarming content of the videos, the Sheriff's Department asserts that incidents of head strikes have dipped since 2019, with only 48 recorded in 2023. The department emphasized Sheriff Luna's attempts to hold deputies accountable for force misuse.
While the Sheriff's Department asserts that the old videos do not represent current practices, the ACLU remains unconvinced. ACLU's National Prison Project deputy director, Corene Kendrick, pointed out the department's failure to produce recent videos to back their improvement claims, as noted by ABC 7.
