Last month sheriff’s deputies were involved in their fourth fatal shooting in as many weeks. Three victims of the killings were minorities; three were shot from behind. An autopsy on Keith Hamilton, a mentally disturbed man who got in a fight with deputies, showed he had been hit by nine bullets, most striking him as he lay face down on the ground. The slayings focused attention on other allegations against sheriff’s deputies, who work side by side with the LAPD in the metropolitan area. The allegations include incidents of brutality, racism, evidence tampering and theft. Outraged blacks and Latinos, the predominant targets of the alleged abuses, have called for reform. “There needs to be a sweeping investigation,” says Gloria Romero, an Hispanic adviser to the L.A. Police Commission. “[Deputies] have literally gotten away with murder.” Unlike his police counterpart, Chief Daryl Gates, who initially refused to criticize his officers, Sheriff Sherman Block readily acknowledged rogue deputies in his department. “We have had individuals who have shown themselves to be overly aggressive,” he told a public hearing last month. But he insisted that the department could weed out the few troublemakers. An elected official, Block also says that his politically motivated critics have exaggerated the issue. Though Block quickly appointed a 21-member panel to probe the problems on his force, residents aren’t satisfied. “This response is a slap in the face to people who have real concerns,” says Vivien Bonzo, a Hispanic activist. Law-enforcement abuses in Los Angeles have even attracted the attention of Amnesty International, the London-based human-rights group known for its work on behalf of political prisoners. Last week AI dispatched a three-person team to examine the charges against the L.A. Police and Sheriff’s departments. The AI team has refused to discuss its agenda with the press.
Citywide statistics show little difference in the levels of violence among sheriff’s deputies and the LAPD. So far this year, the police have been involved in 19 fatal shootings; deputies in 20. Police Watch, a victims’ referral service, logged 502 complaints against deputies in 1990. Through July of this year, the tally stood at 482. Accusations against deputies “tend to be more severe,” says the group’s director Karol Heppe. “The Sheriff’s Department tends to be more trigger happy.”
But in a city where law officers are besieged by better-armed drug dealers, Block says, the use of force is unavoidable. An estimated 98,000 gang members live in the department’s 3,200-square-mile jurisdiction, an area that has seen a record 384 murders this year. “There’s an increase in the level of violence in our community, and with that there’s bound to be an increase in violent confrontations with law-enforcement personnel,” Block told NEWSWEEK. Activists for reform acknowledge the burden, but insist positive steps can be taken: smaller units, more bilingual deputies, calling a halt to the practice of starting out rookies on jail duty. “The picture they get of [minorities] is very ugly, that we’re all drug pushers,” says Romero.
In the meantime, corruption charges suggest the department’s troubles go beyond brutality. Last month five deputies were indicted for allegedly stealing money seized from drug suspects. In another case, three deputies were charged with running a stolen-credit-card ring, using cards taken from elderly drivers.
Last week a federal judge imposed guidelines on the Sheriff’s Department to curb deputy violence. The ruling, though blocked by another court, points up the seriousness of the department’s problems. Block, an avuncular man who wants someday to retire and open a deli, says, “The people have it within their power to remove me from this office whenever they choose.” Unless voters are convinced he can reform the department, Block may be tying on an apron sooner than he’d like.
