One of the many allegations brought forth in the Los Angeles County Jail probe, which led to the arrest of 16 Sheriff's department officials, involves not an inmate, but a visitor who went to see his brother at the Men's Central Jail, according to the Associated Press.
The visitor is referred to as "Visitor LF," and according to federal indictment, went to visit his brother about three years ago when a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy allegedly handcuffed him and kept him for five days. He was later released without any charges after officials tried to falsely charges against him for resisting an executive officer, the AP reported.
According to the "Vistor LF", the deputy handcuffed him and took him into a backroom with no windows and proceeded to slam him into a refrigerator, according to the AP. His arm was reportedly fractured during the process and he suffered from injuries to his nose and face.
The indictment, which was unsealed on Monday, shows this incident is just one of many similar allegations which has led to 18 current and former L.A. County Sherriff Department officials to be charged with beating inmates and jail visitors, falsifying reports and obstruction to an FBI investigation, the AP reported.
The Sheriff's Department oversees the county jail system which holds over 18,700 inmates, according to the AP. The indictment states deputies detained and used unlawful force on visitors to the Men's Central jail, including detaining and handcuffing the Austrian consul general, the AP reported.
Deputies also falsified reports to make arrests seem lawful, or like in one case where an inmate was kicked and pepper-sprayed, the deputies created a false report to charge and prosecute the inmate for assaulting deputies.
Once deputies heard of the probe, they sought a court order to receive the FBI documents related to the case, and even threatened and FBI agent outside her home, according to the indictment, the AP reported.
The probe investigates a long history of corruption, though Sheriff Lee Baca told reporters he was shocked at the reports, and that the department is steadfast in honesty and tradition, the AP reported. Thirteen of the 16 arrested have entered not guilty pleas, and two others no longer work for the department, the AP reported.
Baca also told reporters he would continue to cooperate with the FBI, as he always has in past investigations, and called it a sad day for his department, according to the AP, adding that the deputies who are being charged would be relieved of duty and have their pay suspended.
"These incidents did not take place in a vacuum," U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said during a conference on Tuesday. "In fact, they demonstrated behavior that had become institutionalized."
Two lieutenants are being charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice, the AP reported. One of those lieutenants was in charge of safe jail's program and the other was in charge of investigating crimes by jail personnel reported by inmates.
The two lieutenants are joined by two sergeants and three deputies who are also accused of preventing the FBI of contacting informants by falsifying reports to make it seem like the inmate in question had already been released, but was instead moved to a different cell under a different name, the AP reported.
"You haven't seen me retire from the job, you haven't seen me blame somebody else besides me for whatever the challenges are," Baca said.
