The Los Angeles County sheriff's Compton patrol station "has been permeated" by a violent deputy gang called the "Executioners," according to a new legal claim. The deputy didnt actually see a gun, but his suspect could turn out to be armed and an arrest or recovered firearm could pad his reputation. Austreberto Art Gonzalez started working for the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department in 2007. The Master Training Officer told Gonzlaez that he had done his job well. Gonzalez says he was forced to take paid family leave. The complaint was never investigated. A few weeks after the implementation of the policy, Lieutenant John Wargo held a briefing and told deputies their arrest statistics were too low. Content Warning: This series explicitly details acts of violence (including murder) carried out by law enforcement officials. Aldama says he pulled next to Taylor and asked if he was on parole or probation, to which Taylor said, Im not, pulled out a gun, and ran. The following day, Locketts mother filed a citizens complaint against Aldama and Orrego for using unconstitutional excessive force. [2][5][8] The 'CPT' stands for "Compton" and the '28' represents Compton as the LASD's 28th substation. The district attorneys office declined to file charges. He threatened another FTO, Deputy Thomas Banuelos, which escalated into Contreras assaulting Banuelos while on duty. A band of Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies with matching skull tattoos represent what many in the community see as a criminal gang within law enforcement. 20. The Compton Executioners is a deputy gang within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD). . Deputy Anthony Bautista, who was serving as Watch Deputy, told Gonzalezs partner Deputy Adrian Garcia that, two IA investigators are here to talk to Gonzalez, so get over here. Gonzalez met with the investigators and told them he wanted to remain anonymous due to the threat of violence from the gang. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. axel lab publications; los angeles car accident death today. These deputies share a tattoo, which features a skeleton . Fox News Flash top headlines for August 3. April Tardy said, using a term often used to describe top leaders in prisons and gangs. After Gonzalez made his report, graffiti appeared at the station calling him a rat. "The gang controlled the scheduling, and therefore even having a sick child that needed nonstop medical care was secondary to making sure the gang members got their preferred shifts,"Alan Romero, an attorney representing Gonzalez in hisclaim against the county, told Fox News in a statement. The deputies said that they took him into custody and transported him in a manner outside of policy because they were afraid the group would try to help Alegria. There has been an uptick just in the last 15 years of these police shootings. Gonzalezs attorney Alan Romero said that disclosing the allegation about his client is totally irrelevant to the heroism of his coming forward to protect the public, and only serves to deter and frighten future whistleblowers from coming forward., The L.A. Times would be sending a clear message: If you want to blow the whistle on public corruption, be warned that we will dig into your history and disclose any false allegations that [were] ever made against you.. Deputies continued to receive their full salaries for completing little-to-no work. Black and female deputies are not allowed in the clique, the claim says. Compton Deputy Samuel Aldama speaks at a deposition where he reveals his tattoo associated with the Executioners. The Banditos are linked to the East Los Angeles station, while the Executioners, according to Huntsman's letter, are "a deputy gang based out of the Sheriff's Department's Compton Station." The search was done while the couple was out. A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy alleges a claim in the department's Compton station called the Executioners retaliated against him for reporting misconduct. "This created an emergent public safety issue as gang prospects, hoping to get into the gang, would have been incentivized to engage in a beating or killing to gain gang prestige, when the situation may have otherwise been de-escalated to avoid violence.". 11 Jun 2022. The officers had matching "Executioners" tattoos to show allegiance to the faction. Compton Executioners. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and decorated LASD deputy alleges that the Compton patrol station is run by a deputy gang known as the "Executioners."Full story:. "Deputy Vega does not have one single tattoo on his body, much less a deputy gang tattoo," his attorney Adam Marangell said. Mapping Deputy Gangs within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. [2][5][6] The gang was founded by former 2000 Boys member Andy Toone. Lucas said in a statement, I believe that government can do its part by being more timely and more transparent in sharing information that the public demands and has a right to see. He ruled Guardados death a homicide. On June 21, 2020, about 500 protestors gathered at the intersection of Figueroa Street and West Redondo Beach Boulevard to march to the Compton Sheriff Station. It was a photo of graffiti scrawled on a dial pad at the stations parking lot entrance: ART IS A RAT, it read. Following the meeting, Alcala, Guzman, and Gonzalez were placed on traffic duty. It was one of the first instances of retaliation that continued for months, exacted by the Executioners, a band of deputies with matching tattoos that wields vast power at the Compton station, he . The caption of the photo read, Some people worked Compton, others just claimed they did!!!. Lieutenant John Satterfield, a spokesman for the department, told the Los Angeles Times that the Sheriffs response team secured the parking lot of a business at the request of a manager. They then began to punch and kick him repeatedly. The description of the suspect was minimal: a Black person in a blue beanie driving a Silver Pontiac. A WHISTLEBLOWER cop has claimed that his LA police department has been taken over by a gang known as the 'Executioners' - who bear Nazi tattoos and make illegal arrests. The Compton Executioners is a deputy gang within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD). Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Freelance journalist Vishal P. Singh captured David Cunningham III, a candidate for City Council who was there as a legal observer, being grabbed by a deputy. Gonzalez testified that he faced blowback earlier this year after anonymously reporting an Executioner to the Internal Affairs Bureau for assaulting a fellow deputy. A tattoo on an LA. Aldama said in a deposition that about twenty other deputies at the Compton station had the same tattoo. So well never know the absolute truth.. Following The Times reporting, Compton officials issued formal requests to the state and federal attorney generals to investigate allegations of pervasive civil rights violations. (Google Maps). Before joining The Times in 2016, she reported on crime and policing for the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader. "Skeletons, which is a symbol of death, there were flames coming out of . Leos allegedly raised his voice and told the deputies, You should have known Do your job, Im trying to save your career. Alcala told Leos that doing his job meant completing service calls for the community. Downtown L.A stabbing sends six to hospital; suspect arrested, San Diego Roman Catholic diocese facing yet another lawsuit from its insurance company, K-Pop isnt the only hot ticket in Koreatown how trot is captivating immigrants, Los Angeles is suddenly awash in waterfalls, The Week in Photos: California exits pandemic emergency amid a winter landscape. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. The "Executioners" is made up of about 20 deputies with another 20 prospects or associates, according to the claim. His allegations add to a growing body of information about the Compton clique, one of several tattooed deputy groups within the Sheriffs Department with names such as the Grim Reapers, Banditos and Jump Out Boys. However, Gonzalez states that he learned the Executioners had infiltrated IAB. Inking refers to the act of each newly made member of The Executioners receiving a matching tattoo indicating membership in the organization. Deputy Gang within the Los Angeles Sherrif's Department, "Rep. Meanwhile, other deputies, who are members of the Executioners, were given preference for preferred work schedules and assignments, according to the claim. Aldama admitted under oath to having a tattoo on his calf depicting a skull with a rifle and a military-style helmet emerging from flames. The commanders knew it, the captain knew, they just didnt do anything about it., Locketts case against the County is still pending. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department has embraced deputy gang culture for the past 50 years. After finishing his shift and clocking out around noon on January 15, he decided to visit his godmothers house in the Compton area. "And criminaldefense attorneys are going to be lining up making motions for new trials. "The net result is that the people in those communities end up being shot and stopped, their houses searched at a much greater rate than people in other communities, and it's all because the deputy gangs view themselves as at war with their community," Kennedy told KABC-TV. I call that a gang. Details about the Compton clique were first revealed in a civil case brought by the family of Donta Taylor, a 31-year-old man who was shot and killed when deputies opened fire during a foot chase in 2016. Barragan also told Gonzalez that, there are two ways to do this, you can voluntarily not take trainees and the other way is we start documenting, which Gonzalez understood to mean that unless he accepted the demotion, Barragan would start the process of documenting Gonzalez for discipline, setting him up to be fired. A custom mouse and mousepad in the regalia of the Compton Executioners sheriff's deputy gang. Sweeney believes the search was the result of the Departments desperation to make a case against Lockett. In the summer of 2020, the Guardado family lived in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. But Waldie was later overruled and Juarez returned to Compton. Thatcher called a meeting with deputies to tell them he was happy with the results of his illegal policy. This is an atomic bomb that has been dropped on law enforcement, John Sweeney, an attorney who represented Taylors family, said of Gonzalezs claim. Juarez was reportedly part of a reform effort put forward under former Sheriff Jim McDonnell that stationed deputies who had been involved with multiple on-duty shootings behind a desk. They know whats going on. Los Angeles County settled with Taylor's family for $7million The cliques were first brought to light in a civil case brought by the family of Donta Taylor, a 31-year-old man who was fatally gunned down during a foot chase in 2016. In 2019, for example, the county paid out $7 million to settle a wrongful death claim filed by the family of a man shot and killed by a deputy with an Executioners tattoo. Vega had inadvertently trapped himself and was unable to open his door, so the deputy climbed out of the window and onto the hood of the car. Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Jonathan Lucas defied Villanuevas order and released the report in July 2020. Gonzalezs statements were introduced in an excessive-force lawsuit filed against the Sheriffs Department by Sheldon Lockett. Why are people treating me this way? Elisa and Cristobal Guardado fled violence in El Salvador stemming from the Salvadoran Civil War and raised a family in the city. Gonzalez refused because the schedule wouldnt allow him to take care of his daughter. But often, Gonzalez said, after the party, the deputy and his partner will get inked. The county settled the case with Taylor's family for $7 million. McDonnell went on to lose his bid for re-election to current Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who has a history with several gang affiliated deputies. On August 25, 2016, Aldama and Orrego were assigned to a gang suppression detail, a unit assigned to areas the department deems have high gang activity during the summer months. Market data provided by Factset. Andrew Haney, who worked at the body shop and witnessed the shooting, told LA Taco that Guardado got to his knees and was shot by a deputy. In 2009, a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot in the back by a Compton station deputy, who claimed the boy pointed a gun at him. The county had argued that Locketts attorneys failed to produce evidence that there was a clique and show that the county knew about it. On July 3, 2019, deputies chased a vehicle owned by rapper YG through Compton. He added later: So we call it ink chasers because theyre out there trying to show the rest of the members, the rest of the inked members that, you know, theyre worthy of that tattoo.. Gonzalez said in the deposition that Jaime Juarez, a deputy he identified as the Executioners shot caller, carried out a work slowdown last year when the acting captain refused to install a member as scheduling deputy. The case against Lockett was eventually dismissed. In July 2021, U.S. Congressional Representative Maxine Waters called for a Department of Justice inquiry into the existence of the gang. Sean Kennedy, member of the Civilian Oversight Commission and professor at Loyola Law School, said Thursday that he and his students have identified at least 17 gangs some of them historical in the department. The gang recruits deputies based on their use of violence against criminalsuspects and fellow deputies and nearly all its members have been involved in high-profile shootings, according to the claim. He also said that any future meetings would have to be done somewhere other than the Compton Station. Similar deputy gangs have flourished in minority communities forseveral decades, according toLoyola Law School professor andLos Angeles County Civilian Commissionmember Sean Kennedy. However, the two Sheriffs Homicide Detectives investigating Guardados death appeared at the inquest but refused to answer questions, citing their Fifth Amendment rights. WitnessLA reports that all three deputies were Executioners. They were informed by a neighbor that LASD personnel had descended on their home. Their focus is their group.. He alleged that one of the deputies rammed the end of a police baton into his eye socket, which caused permanent damage, and that he was kicked in the back of the head. Gonzalezwas never asked to join, Romero said. Part of A Tradition of Violence, an extensive investigation into more than five decades of abuse, terror, and murder carried out by gangs within the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Discover the tattoos, the resident and guest artists, the walk-in and private studios, the events and conventions and the tattoo removal centers located in Ho Chi Minh City. In recent years, the claim says, its members were involved in setting illegal arrest quotas and threatening work slowdowns which involve ignoring or responding slowly to calls when they did not get preferred assignments. Between March and April 2020, Gonzalez says Barragan called him and said that he was going to be placed on the early morning shift. 3. A violent gang of Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies who call themselves "The Executioners" control a patrol station in Compton through force, threats, work slowdowns and acts of revenge . Some say its to celebrate that a deputy survived, he said. Members each have a tattoo of a skeleton wearing a Nazi helmet emblazoned with the letters CPT. The deputies pulled out their guns and chased him. Romero alleges that the same image was found on a mouse pad and pencil holder at the station desk of someone belonging to the Executioners. On that basis, Lockett was arrested and taken into custody. Austreberto Gonzalez, asheriff's deputy and aMarine Corps veteran, worked at the Compton patrol station for five years where the gang wielded outsized influence, according to the claim obtained by Fox News. He requested a transfer to another station and met with the investigators who visited the station again. And, presumably, the clique would not be issuing membership cards, or taking minutes at membership meetings, or doing anything else that normal, lawful organizations do. A whistleblower from the Compton Station (CPT) of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department claims that more than 20 of 100 active deputies are part of a violent and brutal police gang The Executioners.Deputy Art Gonzalez, a decorated Marine Corps veteran, filed a claim in June claiming that a fraternal police organization had infiltrated CPT. In July 2021, U.S. Congressional Representative Maxine Waters called for a Department of Justice inquiry into the existence of the gang.. Members of the 'Executioners' are deputies operating out of the Compton station of the LASD. In a statement later, Villanueva said he ordered an investigation. July 4, 2022 compton executioners tattoobritish white cattle for sale in washingtonbritish white cattle for sale in washington According to the claim, as reported by witnessLA in July, the Executioners operate at the Compton station -CPT, for short "with impunity," its members using violence, threats, and retaliation against other deputies, . When he sees a police officer in the rearview mirror he gets frightened, starts sweating. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The tattoos were given by four or five different artists at different people's homes, he said. Their attorneys said Wednesday that those allegations are false. Deputy Vega does not have one single tattoo on his body, much less a deputy gang tattoo, his attorney Adam Marangell said. Were going to call it, and a gun was never recovered.. She came from the Advocate, based in Baton Rouge, La., where she was the lead writer on a team that won an Investigative Reporters and Editors award for stories revealing the financial dealings of the long-serving warden of the notorious Angola Prison. In Compton, the Executioners ruled the station using a similar . He told the Los Angeles Times that the deputies threatened to drop him off in a neighborhood controlled by a gang and tell people on the street he belonged to their rivals. After being admitted to the gang, it said, an officer received its . He sued in 2018. "We're not going to tolerate any clique, any gang-like group of people, subgroup the only group that is acceptable wearing tan and green are deputy sheriff's serving the community," Villanuevasaid. Gonzalez feared violent retribution at the hands of the gang, so he took several days off work. ", "Compton Executioners deputy gang lied about guns and hosted inking parties, deputy says", "L.A. County deputy alleges 'Executioner' gang dominates Compton sheriff station", "The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Is Looking Into Whether Deputy Cliques Act Like Gangs", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Compton_Executioners&oldid=1134535589, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 January 2023, at 04:50. Nearly all the CPT Deputies who have been involved in high-profile shootings and out-of-policy beatings at CPT in recent years have been inked members of The Executioners, the claim alleges. . Aldama said he was one of as many as 20 deputies selected to get the same tattoo after working hard by making arrests and answering calls. Jorge Gonzalez, an attorney for the case, tells Knock LA that he has every reason to believe the deputy gang influenced the actions of the LASD that day. She previously covered the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, focusing on accountability stories and writing about failures by officials to comply with transparency laws. The solution, as city leaders saw it, was to hire the Sheriffs Department to patrol the streets, a move advertised as a way to have more sophisticated policing that would save the city $7 million a year out of its $20-million budget for policing costs. The county settled the case with Taylor's family for $7 million. According to Gonzalezs claim, he and two other deputies complained in 2017 that they were being improperly punished with undesirable assignments for not meeting illegal quotas and were told by a sergeant, Yes, you should have known that by now, according to the claim. Juarez said he's heard the term "Executioners" in the news, but has never heard the term used at Compton station. Compton Deputy Samuel Aldama speaks at a deposition where he reveals his tattoo associated with the Executioners. The existence of such fraternities has sparked multiple internal investigations and recently a federal probe by the FBI, but the groups have remained entrenched, with many civil liberties advocates accusing the Sheriffs Department of turning a blind eye. The following month, Vega and Hernandez were suspended from the Department for crashing their vehicle with Jesus Alegria in the back. His life was cut short while he was working one evening shortly after an encounter with Deputies Vega and Hernandez. When Gonzalez complained to his supervisor, Lieutenant Ruiz, he told Gonzalez that he could make another complaint to IAB. The Executioners have the symbol, the Jump Out Boys have the symbol, and several other people have the symbol, which is a skeleton, a symbol of death.. The cop house cliques were first brought to light in a civil case brought by the family of Donta Taylor, a 31-year-old man who was fatally gunned down during a foot . When he reported another deputy to Internal Affairs for assaulting a colleague behind the station, the phrase "ART IS A RAT" was scrawled on the keypad to the station's parking lot entrance, the claim says. You know, theyll call it a day and say, Thank you for rolling. Lockett was also tasered and pepper sprayed by other deputies. The gang celebrates deputy shootings and threatens work slowdowns when given unpreferred assignments, according to the claim. Instead he submitted a declaration saying that if he was called to testify, he would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights and not answer questions. A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy alleges a claim in the department's Compton station called the Executioners retaliated against him for reporting misconduct. Compton Deputy Samuel Aldama speaks at a deposition where he reveals his tattoo associated with the Executioners. university of southern maine accelerated nursing program acceptance rate "Early on, the Sheriff invited the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct their own investigation and information is actively being shared with them," a department statement said. Hernandez climbed out of the vehicle and began to chase a few of the kids on foot. In early 2016, he was working at the Superior Grocers in the Crenshaw area. Compton Executioners sheriff gang lied about guns and hosted inking parties, deputy says. After months of continued retaliation against him, Gonzalez filed a claim against L.A. County that alleges it was the doing of a powerful gang in control of the Compton station called the "Executioners" whose members were some of the deputies that sported matching tattoos containing Nazi-type images and an AK-47. The Sheriff's Department said the FBI is now involved"Deputy Vega does not have one single tattoo on his body, much less a deputy gang tattoo," his attorney Adam Marangell said. In Compton, the Executioners ruled the station using a similar structure, Gonzalez testified. In November 2020, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors ordered an inquest into the killing of Andrs Guardado something that hadnt been done for nearly 30 years. He was warned by another deputy to be careful. In 2016, Gonzalez attempted to get time off of work in order to care for his daughter. Wargo also said that it was their job to arrest people, so go do your job. Deputies with low arrest numbers were placed in what are described as undesirable assignments like the front desk at the station, traffic detail, or the Compton Town Mall Center. Gonzalez was eventuallyforced to step down from hisfield training officer positionand deputies refused to partner with him, he alleges. follow. After the arrest, Locketts mother filed a complaint to the Sheriffs Department. "The results of the investigation will be released when legally permissible.". I think that I now call them a gang because thats what gangs do. His first trainee was Deputy David Battles, who completed his training period with Gonzalez in January 2020. The Executioners were behind several violent incidents in the Compton area in 2020. Now, Locketts attorneys are citing Gonzalezs claim in a court filing seeking to reopen discovery, depose several deputies again and examine their WhatsApp accounts. He requested another week off work out of fear. Twenty-five years from now, youre watching the news and some smart law student from Stanford in the Innocence Project [comes out with] Sheldon Lockett comes with gray hair and a beard. He tells Knock LA that Lockett is in horrible condition today and suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. . The next day, two investigators came to the station unannounced and requested to speak with Gonzalez at the front desk. Two deputies who said they were assaulted and knocked unconscious are among those facing discipline for policy violations that include failing to report the Kennedy Hall incident to superiors, their attorney Vincent Miller said. And [Lockett] ran., Sweeney says that Aldama broadcast to a dispatcher he had seen a man with a gun and asked for the call to be put out on Patch, meaning all deputies could hear. She graduated from Vassar College. Sheldon Lockett lived in the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles. Deputies with alleged ties to these cliques, which are accused of using violent and aggressive tactics similar to those of criminal street gangs, have cost taxpayers $55 million in settlements and payouts in incidents that date to the 1990s, according to county records obtained by The Times. Each of the wounds had lethal capacity. Ryan Casey, one of the attorneys representing the family, tells Knock LA that the case has been delayed because of the ongoing criminal investigation. Gonzalez alleged that Compton station deputies "become inked as 'Executioners' after executing members of the public, or otherwise committing acts of violence in furtherance of the gang." LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles County sheriff's Compton patrol station "has been permeated" by a violent deputy gang called the "Executioners," according to a new legal claim. The powerful position, which Juarez had previously held, controls scheduling, days off and overtime, Gonzalez said. About one month into Locketts wrongful incarceration, deputies searched the home of his mother and her husband. Potential recruits are chosen based on past acts of violence against members of the Compton community and recruits cannot be Black or female.[2]. When he said that he did, he wasnt given any. Legal Statement. Before joining the department, he served in the Marine Corps. Secret societies of Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies with matching skeleton tattoos have long been a liability in cases in which inked deputies are accused of excessive force and harassment.