The Compton division of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department are under investigation after one deputy blew the whistle on fellow officers who reportedly threw secret parties and got “executioner” tattoos after shooting suspects.
ABC7 in Los Angeles has the details about the complaint filed by Deputy Art Gonzalez, which alleges absolutely repulsive behavior by members of the department. According to ABC7: “Deputy Gonzalez says that the ‘Executioner’ deputies celebrate shootings of citizens with tattoo parties, set illegal arrest quotas and retaliated against him when he reported one alleged ‘Executioner’ deputy for beating up a fellow deputy outside the patrol station earlier this year.”
Residents of Compton, including Mayor Aja Brown, say they have been victims of abusive behavior and illegal stops by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Compton division for years. Just last year Brown says deputies pulled her over at gunpoint with her husband and infant in the car, saying that she’d run a red light, something she vehemently denied. Then they pulled her out of the car, searching her, her husband, and the car for drugs, all while her baby was crying.
"They ordered me out of my vehicle and they asked me to put my hands on top of the police vehicle so they could search me as if I were a criminal," Brown said. "Mind you, I was accompanied by my husband and my infant daughter in the back seat. I did not look like someone that is trafficking drugs."
In the end, Brown and her husband were released without even a ticket. She said the experience left them shaken. “They terrorize the community and then they cover their tracks,” she said, and added: “It is unacceptable, we will not take this.”
Compton is in the county of Los Angeles, but is not part of the city of Los Angeles. They have a contract with the department to police the community. Mayor Brown is calling for the city to reconsider the $22 million the LA Sheriff’s Department receives annually, saying: "We demand justice from the Compton sheriffs and we will no longer continue to pay you $22 million to terrorize this community." The contract with the county is the result of a transformation in 2000 when the city’s police department was disbanded after violence in the city continued to rise.
Compton has seen large protests against police brutality since the deaths of George Floyd and Compton resident Andrew Gourdado, an 18-year-old who was working security for an auto shop when deputies chased him and shot him in an alley. Deputies say Gourdado had a gun and ran from them. His family says he did not own a gun was was shot in the back five times. The FBI is currently reviewing that case.
In June, thousands joined Mayor Brown, celebrities like Kendrick Lamar, and residents who shared their stories of being abused and detained by the the Compton division of the LA Sheriff’s Department.
Like a lot of urban communities, Compton is rapidly changing due to gentrification, much of it driven by a new $5 billion football stadium set to start hosting NFL games this fall.
In the full video report below, other Compton residents recounted their own terrifying and humiliating experiences with the Compton division of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.