Shocking new videos have exposed violence in LA County’s jails, with guards seen kneeling on an inmate’s neck.
The newly released videos, which a California judge ordered released Thursday, revealed deputies using excessive force and hitting inmates.
The videos, covering a period from October 2019 to July 2022, were released as part of a lawsuit brought by Alex Rosas and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The lawsuit was filed against the Sheriff’s Department over its treatment of inmates, with the LA Times and WitnessLA calling for the videos to be released.
A video shows an inmate being pinned to the ground and surrounded by police officers using the so-called WRAP.
Another is grabbed by two officers and pinned to the ground while one of them kneels on the inmate’s neck.
The videos, covering a period from October 2019 to July 2022, were released as part of a lawsuit brought by Alex Rosas and the American Civil Liberties Union
A County of Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department bus drives past Tower One of the Men’s Central Jail as seen from Vignes Street in downtown Los Angeles
The WRAP is a type of restraint used when prisoners do not comply and is similar to a straitjacket.
In other clips, inmates are seen being hit in the head, and in another, two officers grab an inmate leaving his cell and slam his head against a wall.
The inmate has his hands behind his back throughout the interaction.
Before releasing the footage, the district blurred the identities of staff and inmates and all but one remained silent.
It is also impossible to know what happened before or after the incidents shown.
District attorneys fought to keep the footage confidential, but after a hearing earlier this year, U.S. District Court Judge Dean Pregerson ordered its release.
Peter Eliasberg, general counsel for the ACLU of Southern California, told the LA Times that the videos showed “unnecessary force” being used.
Eliasberg told the outlet that the “most brutal” of the clips was the one in which two police officers slam an inmate’s head against a wall.
He said the video showed a “completely unnecessary” use of force for which there was “clearly no justification.”
Eliasberg added, “The inmate doesn’t do anything to them. And frankly, even if he had, it would be almost impossible to justify that kind of violence.”
Here an inmate with his hands cuffed is seen being grabbed by two officers after leaving his cell
The two police officers slam his head against the wall outside his cell while another officer rushes over to help – although the inmate does not provoke the men in the clip
According to Eliasberg, the officer who placed his knee on an inmate’s neck was not punished for his behavior.
Aside from footage of the beatings and kneeling incidents, one of the videos shows a person lying on the ground bleeding and moaning and officers using the WRAP device to subdue him.
ACLU lawyers raised concerns about the fact that officers covered the man’s face with a spit mask, which is designed to prevent people from spitting, while he was bleeding.
The LA Times reported that after a medical examination, it was determined that the inmate had suffered a fractured orbital bone.
In a statement on its website, the Sheriff’s Department said: “The incidents depicted in these six videos do not reflect current policies in place to hold deputies accountable when they violate the department’s strict use of force policies.”
“Each of the use-of-force incidents depicted in these videos occurred during the tenure of a previous sheriff.”
The officers managed to restrain the occupant with the wrap restraint, he was loaded into a cart and rolled away
One of the videos shows a person lying on the ground, bleeding and moaning, and officers using the WRAP device to subdue him
ACLU lawyers raised concerns about the fact that the officers covered the man’s face with a spit mask
The statement added that with the policy changes, violent incidents have decreased by 17% in 2022 and an additional 20% so far this year.
The ACLU says it sometimes takes years for videos to be released, so it doesn’t know if those numbers are accurate.
According to the Vera Institute of Justice, the state of California is one of the “epicenters” of mass incarceration in the country.
The institute reports that authorities make nearly 800,000 arrests and more than 600,000 admissions to county jails each year.
Black people, particularly in Los Angeles County, are arrested disproportionately at higher rates than any other ethnicity, according to the institute’s data.
The arrest rate for black people in the county is 3.4 times higher than that for white people.