A federal judge sentenced six current and former officers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) on September 23 to years-long prison sentences after officers were found gulity of obstructing an ongoing investigation by the FBI into civil rights and corruption violations in the Los Angeles County Jail. From the Los Angeles Times:
Saying he wanted to send the message that "blind obedience to a corrupt culture has serious consequences," a federal judge Tuesday sentenced six current and former members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to years-long sentences in federal prison. The sentences for the five men and one woman convicted of obstructing an FBI investigation into the county jails ranged from 21 months for one deputy to as much as 41 months for a veteran lieutenant. "You broke the vow ?you made to protect the public and serve the community," U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson said, adding the six had acted to "shield the dirty deputies…. Perhaps it is a symptom of the corrupt culture within the Sheriff's Department." "None of you have shown even the slightest remorse," Anderson added.
Defense attorneys repeatedly invoked the idea that the officers were following orders from higher ranking officials like former L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca, who retired after the scandal broke, and former undersheriff Paul Tanaka, who is both running to be the new Sheriff in November and is a part of the FBI's current investigation.
For more on problems in the L.A. County Jail system watch, LA County Jail Officers Charged with Federal Crimes; Jail monitors Respond:
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