LOS ANGELES SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Racist Murdering Thugs in Uniform and Nazi-like Prison Guards; Murderous Enforcers of THIS System

A History of Casual Murder, with No Restraints under This System

May 24, 2021 | revcom.us

 

 

For at least 50 years, oppressed people in LA County have grown up with a terror of the LA Sheriffs—the kind of terror that you hear about from older Black people who came up in the South when KKK torture and lynchings were a constant fear.

David Diaz, a 69-year-old lifelong resident of East LA, told the Guardian that he and almost every man in his family has been arrested and booked by the sheriffs, and that at least nine friends had been killed by police. Diaz says this dates all the way back to the time of the Chicano Power Movement of the 1960s and ’70s when sheriffs seemed to be competing to arrest as many people as possible. That was a time when Mexican-Americans were starting to rise up against constant racist humiliation, discrimination, and oppression they faced as a people. On August 29, 1970, this took expression in the Chicano Moratorium, a peaceful march of about 30,000 Chicano people against the Vietnam War, which was violently attacked by hundreds of LA Sheriffs and LAPD cops, leading to the deaths of four people. Prominent Chicano journalist and Los Angeles Times columnist Ruben Salazar was sitting in a café when a deputy fired a tear gas canister at his head, killing him. (We will have more on this in Part III of this series.)

Paul Rea’s mom, Leah Garcia, recalls that in 2008, when Paul was only seven, cops pulled them over for a traffic stop and Paul began screaming “Please don’t take my mom.” By that time Leah had already lost the father of another child to the sheriffs. Eleven years later, in June 2019, Paul was the passenger in a car pulled over for allegedly running a stop sign. Deputies threatened to kill the driver. Paul took off running. One deputy opened fire, killing Paul.

A year later, on June 18, 2020, a sheriff shot Andres Guardado, an 18-year-old Salvadoran-American, six times. A whistleblower in the LASD reported that this killing was done to gain approval from one of the white supremacist gangs that are a powerful element of LASD.

Then less than two months later, in August 2020, deputies shot Dijon Kizzee, a 29-year-old Black man, 15 times in his back, continuing even after he was lying still. They suspected him of violating vehicle codes while riding his bike.

These killings were nothing new. Just a small sample, an example of the murderous enforcement of this system, of its institutionalized white supremacy and police terror, brutality, and murder:

In August 2018, deputies fired 13 shots into the back of Anthony Vargas, and then lied that he was charging at them with a gun.

On June 6, 2019, deputies shot Ryan Twyman, a 24-year-old father of three, 34 times as he sat, unarmed in his car. That same day law enforcement killed three other people in LA.

In 2016, they chased down 31-year-old Donta Taylor and shot him a dozen times alongside a canal because they said he was wearing “gang colors.” He was unarmed and not even suspected of a crime.

In January 2016, they shot Nicholas Robertson, 28-years-old, 33 times, firing, reloading and firing again as Nicholas tried to crawl away. Then they left his body lying out uncovered for 13 hours.

If you’re Black or Brown, even a position of wealth or authority won’t protect you. In August 2020, Aja Brown, the Black mayor of Compton was driving with her husband and her infant daughter when sheriffs pulled her over for an alleged traffic violation. At least seven sheriff’s vehicles descended on the scene. Brown was ordered out of the car and searched as her daughter screamed. Brown said “They terrorize the community...” In July, Jermelle Henderson, a successful restaurant owner, was pulled over at gunpoint and handcuffed, detained in the patrol car and then released without any explanation.

Since 2000, LASD has killed at least 330 people.

Out of all these killing, there has been one deputy indicted!

The rulers of this system give LASD the responsibility to “maintain order,” and especially to keep control of the most oppressed, marginalized, and rebellious sections of people. LASD has been given the power of life-and-death over the people, and it has shown, time and again over many decades, its willingness to wield that power with complete ruthlessness and outright sadism. They behave straight up like an occupying army of racist murderous thugs... which is exactly what they are!

And the system backs them up, virtually every time—for they are a manifestation of the murderous enforcers of this system.

 

Coming Soon: Parts II and III of this exposure on the LA Sheriffs Department... follow revcom.us

 

1. Background: With an annual budget of 3.3 billion dollars, 9,000 deputies and 13,000 other paid employees and civilian volunteers, the LA County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) is the largest sheriff’s department in the U.S. It patrols 42 cities and 153 unincorporated areas in the 4,751 square miles of LA County, home to millions of people, mainly Latino, Black, Asian, and Indigenous. It also runs the largest jail system in the world, with 200,000 people held at some point every year. [back]

August 29, 1970, about 30,000 Chicano people took part in the Chicano Moratorium, a peaceful march against the Vietnam War, which was violently attacked by hundreds of LA Sheriff’s deputies and LAPD cops, leading to the deaths of four people.

In August 2020 deputies shot Dijon Kizzee, a 29-year-old Black man, 15 times in his back, continuing even after he was lying still. They suspected him of violating vehicle codes while riding his bike.