In May, the Office of Inspector General sent letters to 35 deputies suspected of being members of the groups commonly known as the Executioners at Compton station, or the Banditos at the East L.A. station.Facing long-standing allegations of “appalling” conditions inside the county’s jails and violent deputy “gangs” operating on its streets, Sheriff Robert Luna announced a new office designed to combat those problems.
At first, Chalfant issued a temporary restraining order in late May, blocking the county from forcing deputies to come answer questions or show their tattoos. Then in late June, the judge heard arguments from the county and the union about whether the terms of the restraining order should stay in place as an injunction or whether the inspector general’s investigation should be allowed to move ahead.
The union’s lawyers also said that even though the new state law requires policing agencies to cooperate with inspector general investigations, the county needs to bargain over the parameters and logistics of any such investigation before ordering deputies to comply.