Full Coverage: Sheriff’s Department cover-up of incident where deputy knelt on inmate’s head
Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials subdue an inmate, with a deputy kneeling on the man’s head. The L.A. County district attorney’s office has decided the deputy won’t face any charges.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials attempted to cover up an incident in which a deputy knelt on the head of a handcuffed inmate for three minutes because they feared the “negative light” it could shed on the department, according to internal records reviewed by The Times.
The independent watchdog for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating allegations Sheriff Alex Villanueva lied about his knowledge of the incident.
Additionally, an L.A. County sheriff’s commander filed a lawsuit accusing Villanueva of obstructing justice and retaliating against those who blew the whistle.
Enzo Escalante, the inmate whose head was knelt on by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy for three minutes while he was handcuffed, sued members of the Sheriff’s Department, including Villanueva.
Los Angeles County prosecutors are now convening a criminal grand jury to investigate whether the Sheriff’s Department mishandled the incident, according to documents and interviews. Several subpoenas have been served ordering sheriff’s officials to appear and testify later this week, according to two sources with knowledge of the subpoenas.
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A grand jury will investigate how the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department handled an incident in which a deputy kneeled on a handcuffed inmate’s head for three minutes.
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A third L.A. County sheriff’s official contradicts Sheriff Villanueva’s account of what he did after a deputy kneeled on the head of a cuffed inmate.
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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is poised to place a charter amendment on the November ballot that would give supervisors the power to remove an elected sheriff from his position.
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Former Assistant Sheriff Robin Limon filed a legal claim that offered the first eyewitness account of Sheriff Alex Villanueva allegedly lying.
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A year after L.A. County Deputy Doug Johnson took graphic photos of Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash scene that were then passed around, he was caught up in another scandal.
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Editorial: Villanueva’s attempt to intimidate a Times reporter is a gaslighting assault on the press
Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s attempt to intimidate a Los Angeles Times reporter is the sort of tactic employed by tin-pot dictators and power-happy functionaries.
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L.A. County’s sheriff has spent most of his time defending his department with the bluster of a lesser John Wayne character and a skin thinner than tulle.
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The general counsel of the Los Angeles Times wrote a letter of protest after the L.A. County Sheriff launched a criminal leak probe into a reporter who exposed a jail coverup.
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Sheriff Villanueva announces criminal investigation of Times journalist who revealed an incident in which a deputy kneeled on the head of an inmate.
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An L.A. County sheriff’s commander filed a lawsuit accusing Sheriff Alex Villanueva of obstructing justice and retaliating against those who blew the whistle.
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An inmate whose head was knelt on by a L.A. County sheriff’s deputy for three minutes while handcuffed sues, claiming his civil rights were violated.
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Sheriff Alex Villanueva is being investigated over allegations he watched video of a deputy kneeling on an inmate’s head months before Villanueva said he did.
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The sheriff called the disclosure of video of a deputy kneeling on an inmate’s head theft of investigative material.
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Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva accuses high-ranking members of his department of attempting to cover up an incident in which a deputy knelt on the head of a handcuffed inmate.
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Officials were worried about the optics of the kneeling, “given its nature and its similarities to widely publicized George Floyd use of force,” a commander who was critical of the coverup wrote in an internal force review.
