Thread by @andreskwon

After @CBSNews published a searing exposé of tattooed gangs of sheriff's deputies running wild w/in the L.A. Sheriff's Dept., and profiled the #AnthonyVargas family, one of the "Banditos" deputy gang prospects who killed him was part of a posse outside the family home last night

https://twitter.com/ACLU_SoCal/status/1366974664807829505

The @CBSNews investigation is damning. Deputy gang members get "brownie points" for shooting, using excessive force, planting weapons. The deputies who killed #AnthonyVargas were prospects of the "Banditos" deputy gang in East L.A. They killed again.

https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1364953173824327685?s=20

Compton station “Executioners” deputy gang prospect Michael Vega killed #AndresGuardado execution-style, 5 shots in the back. LASD quickly covered it up. This led to the first Coroner's inquest in 30 yrs. Vega left town. Detectives pleaded the Fifth.

latimes.com/california/sto…

Only in L.A. have tattooed white supremacist and racist deputy gangs permeated the ranks and management of a law enforcement agency, for decades. Nowhere else in the country.

We've had something much greater than the Rampart scandal here. Times over.

lmu.app.box.com/s/ho3rp9qdbmn9…

These aren’t “cliques” or “subgroups” or even “secret societies.” These aren’t some harmless groups of high school students or fraternities. NO.

These are paramilitary agents who systematically kill community members with impunity and secrecy, and then harass the families.

After killing folks, deputies harass their families in retaliation for their seeking truth and justice.

E.g., after @ACLU_SoCal sued the sheriff, and #PaulRea's sister spoke at a rally, deputies arrested her and jailed her overnight to intimidate her.

witnessla.com/la-sheriffs-de…

Deputy gangs have emerged in Black and Latinx areas, and have adopted white supremacist ideologies and imagery.

E.g., in 1990, the Federal Court described the Lynwood "Vikings" as “a neo-Nazi, white supremacist gang.” The "Executioners" tattoo/symbol is a skull w/ a Nazi helmet.

Deputy gangs have led to escalating use of force. BIPOC folks living in the deputy gang “turf” experience more heavy-handed, aggressive policing, incl. racial profiling and excessive use of force. In the past 5 yrs, out of 133 shootings by LASD, 80% of victims were Black & Latinx

The majority of LASD shootings in past 5 yrs were by stations permeated w/ deputy gangs:
1) East L.A. (Banditos): 20
2) Compton (Executioners): 12
3) Century (Regulators, Spartans): 12
4) South LA (Grim Reapers): 11
5) Lancaster and Palmdale (Cowboys and Rattlesnakes): 10 and 8

We know of 18 deputy gangs w/in LASD. There are likely more, but we don't know the full scope b/c of LASD's culture of denial and secrecy...

And also b/c the County's been complicit, e.g., shaping settlements to keep deputy gang members' names and their unlawful conduct secret.

East L.A. "Banditos" have "OGs" and "shot callers" who target young Latinos as "enforcers," and "tax" women trainees with sexual favors and retaliate vs. deputies who resist, including beating them (e.g., Kennedy Hall) and putting dead rats at their homes
abc7.com/lasd-banditos-…

Compton "Executioners" whose symbol is a skull w/ a Nazi helmet have "998 parties" to celebrate deputies who did the shooting and having them inked. They submit "ghost gun reports," falsely claiming they saw a gun as justification for using force.

latimes.com/california/sto…

Century "Regulators" ("people who take care of problematic people w/ violence") influence station managerial decisions, incl. discipline, and collect “taxes” to support deputies on unpaid leave for misconduct.

"Spartans" also permeate Century station.

latimes.com/archives/la-xp…

South L.A. "Grim Reapers" tattoo is a black-hooded skeleton holding a scythe. Villanueva tried to rehire Carl Mandoyan, a known Grim Reapers, fired for stalking/assaulting his ex-gf/fellow deputy and lying about it. He was also involved in 2 shootings.

laist.com/2021/01/20/_ga…

Palmdale/Lancaster "Cowboys" and "Rattlesnakes." U.S. DOJ has established deputies have "engaged in a pattern or practice of discriminatory and...unlawful searches and seizures...against African Americans"—and discriminating vs. Black residents of federally subsidized housing.

Men's Central Jail "3000 Boys" and "2000 Boys" engage in insubordination and use excessive force against people inside for initiation, beating people even to death and filing false reports. 3000 Boys killed #JohnHorton. Custody deputies then go on to patrol our communities.

Deputy gangs have killed countless community members. They've also cost county taxpayers millions. Since 1990, the County has paid out $55 million—$21 million just in the last 10 yrs. Deputy gang members have been repeat offenders. E.g., Jason Zabala...

latimes.com/california/sto…

In 2013, Zabala (Regulators tattoo #140) stopped #TerryLaffitte for riding a bike w/o lights, and shot him in the head. County paid $1.5 million.

In 2014, Zabala + other deputies fired 34 rounds at #JohnnyMartinez, a man suffering w/ schizophrenia. County paid $2.5 million.

"Vikings" Craig Ditsch framed #FrankyCarrillo. Franky was 16 when arrested and prosecuted as an adult for a shooting, and sentenced to life. 20 yrs later, advocates discovered Ditsch coached witnesses and was an inked "Viking," a fact never disclosed. County paid $10 million.

This crisis of deputy gangs goes all the way to the top. E.g., former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, who is in federal prison right now, is the most prominent "Viking." He got his tattoo after shooting a young Korean-American man in what a LB police officer called “an execution.”

Villanueva has tried to frame deputy gangs as only having harmless “hazing” rituals, e.g., asking a rookie to buy lunch for an entire station or to work overtime without a jacket. He's also said the First Am. and due process protect them. They don't.

documentcloud.org/documents/5974…

We can't reform a dept. that's been so rotten to its core—from the top in Sheriff Alex “Trump of L.A.” Villanueva all the way on down to deputy gang members permeating LASD for decades.

Just look at all the abuses under Villanueva's reign of terror.

oig.lacounty.gov/Portals/OIG/Re…

We must dismantle LASD. And immediately, we must put an end to LASD's systematic harassment of families.

latimes.com/california/sto…

This is why @ACLU_SoCal joined families, @BLMLA @UNITEHERE11 @JusticeLANow @CheckTheSheriff to urge Villanueva's immediate resignation. Since, the @LACountyCOC held a unanimous vote of no confidence calling for his resignation.

It's time #VillanuevaMustGo
action.aclu.org/send-message/a…