Items tagged end sheriff violence

1000 Calls in 60 Days!

So just a few months ago, in December, the Board of Supervisors approved the creation of a civilian oversight commission! Yay! Woo!

BUT…

We’re not done yet. They set up a working group of seven men (all LASD or law affiliated) to decide the size, scope, and powers of the board. In 60 days they will report back to the Board of Supervisors and the civilian oversight commission will be formed.

WE HAVE 60 DAYS TO SHAPE THIS COMMISSION!

And one of the ways we’re going to do that is by making 1000 phone calls over the next 60 days!

CALL your working group member and and DEMAND a civilian oversight commission WITH POWER. That means:

A 9 member board with 4 appointed from the community
Subpoena power
Independent legal counsel
No law enforcement
And that the commission guide the work of the Inspector General

Everyone should call their district rep, the Inspector General (Max Huntsman), and the LASD rep (Neal Tyler.) What LA County District do you live in? Find out here.

District 1: Call Hernan Vera, Max Huntsman, & Neal Tyler
District 2: Call Vincent Harris, Max Huntsman, & Neal Tyler
District 3: Call Dean Hansell, Max Huntsman, & Neal Tyler
District 4: Call Les Robbins, Max Huntsman, & Neal Tyler
District 5: Call Brent Braun, Max Huntsman, & Neal Tyler

Hernan Vera: (562) 882-6286
Vincent Harris:(213) 974-2222
Dean Hansell: (310) 785-4665
Les Robbins: (323) 213-4005
Brent Braun: (310) 871-6431
Max Huntsman: (213) 974-6100
Neal Tyler: (323) 526-5122

RIGHT NOW.
PICK UP THE PHONE.
YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.

Log your calls below! (Please only log each call once.)

[polldaddy poll=8702078]

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Female Incarceration at CRDF

Incarceration at Century Regional Detention Facility (CRDF, “Lynwood”, or simply “the women’s jail”) comes in all colors, brown, black and white – but those are not the colors you need to worry about. The color green, the men and women in Los Angeles County Sheriff uniforms, that will scare you.

LASD does not keep track of how many women are incarcerated each year in the facility. Neither does the facility allow an inmate a secured avenue for filing complaints against officers and staff. I personally know this to be fact. While incarcerated for six months at CRDF I was subjected to horrors and criminal acts perpetrated against me and others by LASD. I saw over-medication, inhumane treatment, verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, drugs, (heroin, cocaine, and numerous prescription pills being sold inside), sexual favors, and numerous (too many to count) coverups perpetuated and inflicted by deputies against prisoners, including the mentally disabled. These issues affect every female in that facility. I was kicked out less then eight hours after verbally complaining to LASD about a staff member exposing his penis to me in the medical module during a shoulder x-ray. At 2 a.m. I was cut loose in the dark, no money, no way home.

CRDF is an institution run for profit, not rehabilitation. The officers that work inside have no accountability for the criminal acts that they commit. I have long stated these facts, filed numerous complaints with the FBI, Governor Schwarzenegger, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Most recently again in October 2014 to Chief David Fender who promised an inquiry and research in a “timely manner”. Neither Chief Fender nor Lieutenant Vic Allende have returned my calls for concern regarding an investigation into the cruelty I was subjected to and the cruelty so many others currently endure.

Where is our liberty and justice for all?

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Civilian Review Board: TAKE ACTION!

Where We’ve Come

For over two years the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence in L.A. Jails has been fighting for an independent civilian review board of the sheriff’s department. When the C2ESV first began no one believed in the concept but we continued to build and fight to ensure sheriff accountability was ultimately put in the hands of the community. The result has been a county wide movement to ensure that the community is legally empowered with the tools necessary to prevent sheriff abuse, demand transparency, and enact accountability by sheriff personnel that harm our loved ones inside the county jail. On December 9th of 2014, the county Board of Supervisors voted to implement a civilian oversight commission! This victory is huge and now we need to work hard to protect our vision of a civilian commission that hold the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department accountable!

Where We Are Now

The December 9th vote created a working group that is responsible for establishing the powers, responsibilities, and composition of the oversight commission. Over the next month this working group will meet to draft a proposal for the county Board of Supervisors to approve. We need your help! There are 7 members of the commission and we need to let them know that the community wants a board with the legal backing to hold the largest sheriff’s department in the county accountable. We have five non-negotioable demands:

Subpoena power
Composed of 9 members, 4 community appointed
Independent legal counsel
No law enforcement or retired law enforcement
Direct the functions of the Inspector General

How You Can Help

We need you to call the working group members and let them know that you believe effective civilian oversight must include the five characteristics laid out above. The functions, powers, and composition of the commission cannot be shaped without the input of the community that has been fighting for effective oversight for over the last two years. Contact the working group members below:

1) DEAN HANSELL, former Federal Trade Commission prosecutor (310) 785-4665
2) NEAL TYLER, current LASD chief (323) 526-5122
3) HERNAN VERA, public interest lawyer (526) 882-6286
4) MAX HUNTSMAN, Inspector General (213) 974-6100
5) LES ROBBINS, 30-year LASD deputy veteran (323) 213-4005
6) VINCENT HARRIS, Senior Advisor to Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas (213) 974-2222
7) BRENT BRAUN, former FBI agent and campaigned for Sheriff McDonnell (310) 871-6431

For more on civilian review boards please see our FAQ here.

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VICTORY! Civilian Review Board is Approved

When The Coalition to End Sheriff Violence in LA Jails first started two and a half years ago we had a vision that the Black and Brown people who bear the brunt of sheriff violence would have the power to end human rights abuses in the largest jail system in the world.

For two years we have built a movement of formerly incarcerated people, their families, and communities to push the county to implement independent civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Department. Story after story of brutality by deputies have been transformed into a real victory for our loved ones on the inside and on the streets of LA.

Today we get to claim our DIGNITY and our POWER!!!

end sheriff violence Archives - Page 6 of 6 - Dignity and Power Now

WE HAVE 60 DAYS TO SHAPE THIS COMMISSION!