At least 41 Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department employees have been identified as members of gangs operating out of local stations, according to a letter the county’s inspector general sent this week to Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
The deputies were identified from the Sheriff’s Department’s own internal affairs investigations, Inspector General Max Huntsman wrote in the letter sent Monday. Huntsman has demanded that Villanueva hand over body-camera footage related to those investigations and instruct deputies to cooperate with his office.
“As you are aware, these investigations uncovered substantial evidence of a variety of conduct relevant to the definition of ‘law enforcement gang’ under the Penal Code, including violent acts against sworn personnel and discrimination in membership based upon race and gender,” Huntsman wrote.
According to the letter, the investigations identified 11 members of the Banditos and 30 members of the Executioners. Both groups allegedly have existed for decades, and over the years have been accused of violence against other deputies and members of the public.
In a Facebook post Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department disparaged Huntsman and said they had handed over all information they were legally required to provide to the inspector general’s office.
“This is another irresponsible attempt from Mr. Huntsman to discredit the organization, through omission and misrepresentation,” officials said in the post. “The timing of this letter suggests Mr. Huntsman is using his public office and resources to campaign against the sheriff leading up to the June primaries.”
Villanueva is facing a tough reelection battle after unexpectedly defeating incumbent Sheriff Jim McDonnell in 2018.
He has courted controversy throughout his term by publicly sparring with members of the county Board of Supervisors. He also has been accused of walking back transparency measures and weakening the disciplinary process against some deputies accused of violence.
He has downplayed the presence of gangs in the department, but also touted measures he approved to expunge them from his ranks.
The existence of the Banditos and the Executioners has been sketched out through investigations by department watchdogs and through the testimony of deputies suing the department alleging they were attacked by members of the gangs.
The Banditos are said to operate out of the sheriff’s East L.A. station, and sport tattoos of gun-wielding skeletons wearing sombreros. The Executioners were formed in the Compton station and allegedly have tattoos of a flaming skull wearing a military helmet.
In his letter, Huntsman noted that members of the Banditos were alleged to have been involved in a fight among deputies that broke out at Kennedy Hall in East L.A. in 2018.
Huntsman did not identify any of the deputies by name in the letter.
The inspector general’s letter marks a continuation of a series of legal battles between the sheriff and Huntsman, backed by the Board of Supervisors.
Huntsman wrote that state laws passed in 2021 strengthening the ability of counties to provide oversight of their elected sheriff’s give him new powers to demand the documents.
“The Sheriff’s Department is mandated by law to cooperate with this office,” he wrote. “Failure to do so will be a violation of (state law).”
