LA County Board

20. Identifying Deputy Gangs within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to Ensure Accountability and Risk Mitigation Recommendation as submitted by Supervisor Mitchell: Request the Sheriff, in coordination with County Counsel, the Interim Inspector General (OIG) and the Executive Director of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission (COC) to develop a comprehensive framework, including an implementation plan with milestones, responsible parties, and dates certain, for identifying and naming deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups, and report back to the Board in writing in 120 days. The report should include but not be limited to: An established criteria for identifying deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups based on patterns of conduct, shared identifiers, logos and other evidence and information including but not limited to: Pending and concluded administrative investigations; Findings or reports by oversight entities; Litigation, depositions, or settlements; Internal department records, including Internal Affairs Bureau investigations; and Testimony, witness statements, and other reliable sources of information and evidence, including those provided by community members. An analysis of historical and current information to identify recurring patterns that may inform the identification of deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups, including reported allegations or findings within particular locations or units, recurring names, symbols, tattoos or other identifiers, patterns of associated conduct, and instances of recurrence following prior investigations, discipline, policy changes, or other Department interventions. Request the Sheriff, in consultation with County Counsel and the OIG, to develop and implement a process to publicly identify, name, and report on any deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups revealed during the course of the Department’s internal inquiries and investigations, without requiring criminal charges or convictions as a condition of public identification, consistent with applicable laws within 120 days of the approval of this motion. Request the Sheriff, and direct County Counsel, to collaborate and jointly provide the Board, in writing in a confidential memorandum, in 120 days: A list of: all alleged or suspected deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups identified by others to the Sheriff Department (LASD); all deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups LASD has confirmed currently exist in LASD; and all deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups referenced or alleged in any pending administrative investigations or Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) referrals made by the Department; A summary of the status of any pending administrative investigations and POST referrals, made by the Department, concerning allegations relating to deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups, de-identified as appropriate consistent with applicable law; For the pending investigations and POST referrals, a list of the alleged name and/or identifying symbol, logos, or tattoos associated with each deputy gang, clique, and secret subgroup, and an identification of the gender and racial/ethnic background of each alleged member of any such deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups, de-identified as appropriate consistent with applicable law; An explanation of whether LASD investigations currently include, or have included in the past, a requirement that deputies show tattoos on their arms and legs below the knee and, if not, why this was/is not part of LASD’s investigation protocol; and County Counsel shall provide this confidential report, upon its completion, to the OIG, the Executive Director of the Sheriff COC, and the members of the COC, and the members of the COC, where legally permissible, pursuant to County Code § 6.44.190(H) and the OIG's special counsel role to the Board arising from this Directive. County Counsel shall also prepare a public-facing version, where legally permissible. Request the Sheriff, in coordination with the OIG, to conduct a comprehensive review of all patrol stations, custody facilities, and specialized units using the criteria established in Directive 1, and to report back to the Board in writing in 180 days with a list of deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups within those locations using the established criteria, and to make that list publicly accessible. Request the Sheriff to report back in writing within 60 days describing the Office of Constitutional Policing's role and prevention and investigative processes when there are allegations involving deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups. The report should include the criteria used to initiate, decline, discontinue, or close an investigation, as well as any identified barriers to investigating of addressing such allegations. Request the Sheriff to use existing resources and systems to develop a publicly accessible online reporting system for the general public to document complaints and allegations of the existence of deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups and ensure that all complaints submitted through the system are documented in a standardized format and shared with the OIG aligned with their quarterly reporting. Direct the OIG, in coordination with the Sybil Brand Commission, to inspect LASD facilities, including but not limited to patrol stations, patrol vehicles, custody facilities, and specialized units, and inventory (including via photographs and/or video recordings), all logos, badges, seals, or other insignia on the facilities' structure or furnishings that are not official County and/or Sheriff insignias and report, in writing, its findings to the Board within 90 days and quarterly thereafter; and to request the Sheriff give the OIG access, with LASD security and oversight as appropriate, to such facilities necessary to conduct this inspection and inventory. Request the Sheriff to adopt a Department-wide prohibition on the display, possession, or promotion of racist symbols, insignia, or iconography, including on or within patrol stations, custody facilities, specialized units, department property, equipment, and uniforms, and to require the removal of any such existing symbols or displays, except where maintained for legitimate investigative, evidentiary, training, or oversight purposes. Direct the Chief Executive Officer, through Employee Relations, in collaboration with the Sheriff and County Counsel, to report back in writing within 30 days with an analysis of whether any provision of this motion requires the County to meet and confer with respective Sheriff’s Department employee associations. For any provision requiring bargaining, the report shall identify whether the bargaining is required over the directive itself, the effects of implementation, or both, the legal basis for the determination, and what actions may lawfully proceed while bargaining continues. The report shall include an analysis and matrix of all ongoing and unresolved meet-and-confer processes related to deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups. For each process, the report shall identify: The policy, directive, or issue subject to meet and confer; the date the process began; its current status; and the specific matters that remain unresolved. The reason each matter remains unresolved, including any legal, procedural, or other barriers to resolution and the basis for that barrier. Whether there is a legal requirement to refrain from implementing all or any portion of the policy or directive while meet and confer remains pending and, if so, the legal basis and scope of that limitation. The reason any process pending for more than six months remains unresolved and whether the circumstances support a declaration of impasse or any other lawful means of concluding the County’s bargaining obligations; and, if not, the specific steps or conditions that must occur before such action can be taken. The legal, procedural, and administrative options available to the County to advance or conclude the process and proceed with implementation as expeditiously as permitted by the law. Direct the Chief Executive Officer, through Risk Management, in collaboration with County Counsel, to report back in writing in 120 days on their respective roles in supporting the County’s efforts to eradicate deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups. The report should include an analysis of the authority and responsibilities of the CEO and County Counsel in identifying systemic legal risks and reducing future litigation and liability. Direct County Counsel, in collaboration with the OIG and the COC (or an ad hoc committee thereof), to report back to the Board in writing in 120 days on the feasibility of having an entity, outside the LASD chain of command, including an external, independent entity; the County Department of Human Resources; or the California Department of Justice pursuant to legislation similar to Assembly Bill 1506, investigate allegations of deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups membership or activity and, if appropriate, recommend or impose discipline or other employee corrective action accordingly. Direct the Chief Executive Officer and County Counsel to report back to the Board in writing within 120 days to identify budget accountability measures to reduce LASD’s judgment and damages line related to deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups. Direct the Chief Executive Officer and County Counsel, in coordination with the OIG, to report back to the Board in writing in 120 days on the legal, budgetary, administrative, and oversight options available to the Board to enforce the directives of this motion, and proposed alternative corrective action, if LASD determines they cannot or will not implement. (26-5179) Motion by Supervisor Mitchell (Updates Following Cluster)