Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP / Getty Images
For: EFE Updated 08 Apr 2022 , 18: 15 pm EDT
A report ordered by a Los Angeles court evidenced the persistent use of force in the prison system, in particular the use of blows to the head of the inmates by the guards.
The report, which was filed in a California district court, criticizes such practices by the California Sheriff’s Department. Los Angeles County (LASD) under the direction of Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
The panel noted that blows to the head are prohibited by policies on the use of force, and pointed out that this practice has remained unchanged for years, according to what the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California reported this Friday.
“The guards brutally beat imprisoned people on the head, start necessarily take forceful actions rather than take action to prevent them, and then falsify reports to justify their actions,” ACLU attorney Peter Eliasberg said in a statement. .
“These problems persist because the supervisors pay attention disregarding the excessive use of force and dishonesty, and no one is disciplined”, he added.
The report indicates that the problem is complicated by the fact that supervisory reviews of use of force cases almost never mention blows to the head, so the true extent of the problem is unknown.
Also, it stands out, the guards who incur in this practice are “advised” or sent to corrective training, but disciplinary measures are rarely applied.
“Although the Department has openly acknowledged this persistent problem in di discussions with the monitors and now contemplates changes in the way hits are classified and reported, there has been little change or progress in more than two years”, he says.
Another persistent problem detected is “the tendency of guards not to call a supervisor when confronted with a recalcitrant inmate, as required by policy”, or “unnecessarily laying hands on an inmate, resulting in the use of force”.
“We do not see progress towards a professional management of situations of use of force. It is time for the prison culture to stop supporting prohibited behaviors”, underlines the report, the tenth issued by the monitors.
In their report, the panel requests a “status conference” to discuss with the LASD in court the problems found
and seek solutions and determine next steps.
The Los Angeles Jail Oversight Panel was appointed by court as part of a settlement of 2015 in Rosas v. Baca to address guard violence against inmates in county jails.
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