Originally published at: Official report condemns police gangs within Los Angeles Sheriff's Department | Boing Boing
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Annual budget: $3.63 Billion.
That’s more that the entire military budget of Finland, and they have Putin to worry about.
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This thuggery has been going on for decades, approved by Lee Baca an his deputy Paul Tanaka (both of whom ended up doing prison time) then stonewalled by his so-called reformer successor Alex Villanueva (recently defeated in re-election for Sheriff). The whole department needs to be razed to the ground and built fresh.
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“The tattoos are allegedly awarded for killing a civilian, and given out at parties. Recruits are reportedly chosen for the gang based on their propensity for violence against members of the community. Black people and women are not allowed to join. Samuel Aldama, a tattooed member of the Executioners, testified under oath that he had ill feelings towards African Americans. Sweeney says that the gang is racist.” There are an estimated 80 members.
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A criminal organization within a criminal organization that mimics other criminal organizations.
Bad cops have extremely limited imaginations.
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I just had jury duty this week and I made it as far as sitting in a courtroom waiting for a possible turn at voir dire. Some jurors in the the jury box speculated during their voir dire that the defendant was in a gang. Both attorneys began asking about his appearance, and whether some jurors knew of gang members in their neighborhood.
I had my answer ready if I made it to jury box.
- I used to live in the intersection of 2-3 gangs for four years, and they were always super friendly and polite to me even while carrying a gun. (Not sarcasm; never had a problem.)
- Also, if the LA County Sheriff’s Dept is also okay with gangs working as Sheriff’s Deputies, then I’m okay.
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Wikipedia: The department has used the term “cliques” when discussing these groups
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That’s redundant.
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In my experience, casual encounters between “civilians” and police and casual encounters between “civilians” and organized crime are equally stressful.
I’ve seen the effect you mention too. I lived on the east side of Toronto for awhile, in the same neighbourhood as the clubhouse for the local chapter of hells angels. Lotta guys in the neighbourhood had sweet renovated homes with fancy copper eavestroughs & fittings, seemingly retired early, hanging around on fancy outdoor furniture on nice porches.
Petty crime / street dealing / B&E type stuff was not had in our time there, not allowed, in any format, for at least 3 blocks around the clubhouse. The odd retired men were always friendly, people using clubhouse/wearing colours kept to themselves.
I think the cop gangs drove a tank through the front door of the place not long after my partner and I moved to the west side. It’s gone now, idk what became of local crime rates.
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The Villanueva saga was simply bizarre. He ran as an aggressive reformer and then as soon as he won it was like, “nope, I’m actually a piece of shit, no backsies”. He wasn’t even subtle about it. He went straight into full-on abuse-of-power mode.
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Indeed it has been, but it’s even worse than you’re saying. Tanaka didn’t just approve of these gangs, he himself was a member of the Lynwood Vikings since 1987, to give some idea of how long-established these things are. These gangs have cost taxpayers millions according to a RAND report.
There is even a Wikipedia page listing the gangs of LASD.
They should kick out anyone connected with these things. But it’s not going to happen even if the lawsuits keep coming.
Edit: wow, CafePress even has Lynwood Vikings logo items for sale.
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I’ve read that this is what the yakuza in Japan used to do, before the Japanese government made paying them off illegal. For instance, the owner of a nightclub would pay them a cut of the takings and in return they would keep pickpockets and street crime out of the neighbourhood and make sure that there was no dealing or prostitution going on inside the club or nearby.
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…but these aren’t gangs, they’re “brotherhoods”.
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(excerpts)
The report said that … deputy gangs “…engage in gang-type and criminal behavior directed against the public and other Department members.”
“…the Civilian Oversight Commission… also accused the union that represents the sheriff’s deputies of failing to stop the gangs and protecting alleged members.”
Sheriff Robert Luna… thanked the commission for its work but stopped short of committing to immediately ban the cliques.
So, Luna’s got the cop gangs and the union to deal with. His Long Beach track record doesn’t fill me with confidence.
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This is why they have their own union in the first place; which is why police unions must be abolished.
The union that represents the other employees is good enough.
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… I dunno, “hey I bet we can use the language of the labor movement and the mechanisms of contract law to stop anybody from holding us accountable for anything” was pretty creative 
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Remember that scene from Breakfast Club where Claire got her first tat for murdering that other girl in gym class and the rest of the clique threw a rolicking 3-day-binge party?
No, because murderous gangs aren’t cliques!
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… so the LASD is more like Heathers
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