Items tagged personal stories

Complaint Process FAQ

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department doesn’t have an FAQ on the complaint process – so we made one for them! Let us know if you have any additional questions to add.

How do I submit a complaint?

The LASD claims that you can submit complaints to them 24 hours a day by phone, mail, email, online contact form, or in person at any sheriff’s facility. When filing a complaint at a sheriff’s facility you should ask for the watch commander or person in charge and make sure they give you the unique tracking number that is supposed to be given to you for future reference.

You can complain named or anonymously to the Office of Inspector General on their online contact form, but they will either forward your complaint to the LASD or not investigate. So what’s the point? Well, the OIG is supposed to provide independent oversight and monitoring of the LASD and reports directly to the County Board of Supervisors who control much of the LASD’s budget.

The Civilian Oversight Commission is a new independent oversight body that you can call, email, or attend one of their monthly meetings to submit a complaint in person. We’ve created a contact sheet so that you can contact most individual commissioners as well.

If you do not receive a response from LASD within 30 days or if you are not satisfied with LASD’s response contact the ACLU of Southern California Jails Project.

You can always contact us, Dignity and Power Now, with your complaints and we will do our best to address them.

Is there an app like the LAPD has?

Like this? Nope. Hopefully one day, but not now.

Where does my complaint go?

If you submit your complaint to the LASD your complaint is supposed to go to their Internal Affairs Unit.

If you submit your complaint to the Office of Inspector General it will go to Inspector General Max Huntsman and his staff. Then they will share it with the LASD.

If you submit your complaint to the Civilian Oversight Commission it will likely go to the Executive Director Brian Williams before being shared with the commissioners, unless you contacted each commissioner individually.

If you submit your complaint to the ACLU of Southern California Jails Project it will go to Director of Jails Esther Lim and her team.

Is submitting my complaint one way better than another?

Unfortunately no. Throughout each complaint system you will either face the issue of filing with the very department you are complaining about or relying on a body that has no real power to make changes within the LASD.

If no one from LASD responds in 30 days or if you are not satisfied with LASD’s response make sure you contact the ACLU of Southern California Jails Project.

Will they act on my complaint?

Possibly. Complaints have been known to be taken seriously and investigated, but we at DPN are consistently contacted by formerly incarcerated people and their families that say nothing was done, no one ever followed up with them, or that the LASD responded aggressively. We suggest going through the Civilian Oversight Commission whose meetings you can attend and contacting us to make sure we can help you follow up.

The ACLU of Southern California Jails Project says that out of the complaints they receive 80% are resolved within 30 days and 20% are unresolved due to no response from the LASD, the complainant is no longer in jail, still under investigation, or human error. A majority of the letters they receive contain several pink receipts grievance forms a prisoner submitted as proof that they tried to utilize the in-house grievance system to no avail.

What if I submit it anonymously?

If you submit a complaint anonymously with the LASD, OIG, COC, or ACLU it will not be investigated. You may contact us with your anonymous complaint and we will do our best to address it.

What will happen to the deputy / staff member?

Probably nothing – but this does not mean you shouldn’t speak up!

Even if Sheriff McDonnell himself wants to fire or discipline a deputy or staff member they usually will just go to the Civil Service Commission and get reinstated. Right now the sheriff can’t even give a list of 300 problematic deputies to prosecutors without getting it blocked in court by the sheriffs’ union.

The Office of Inspector General and the Civilian Oversight Commission can request information from the LASD but have no real power to subpoena records or discipline deputies. We’re working to change that.

This makes it all the more important that we speak out, file complaints, attend meetings, and fight to end sheriff violence!

Will I find out what happens?

Probably not. This is an issue we’ve brought up repeatedly and the Civilian Oversight Commission has vowed to work on. It’s insane that you can find out more about your Dominos Pizza order process than your sheriff’s department complaint process. For now it is up to you and us to be vigilant about following up and speaking out at meetings.

How do prisoners make complaints?

There is a system in place for prisoners to make complaints, but it is severely flawed and many prisoners do not use it due to the real possibility of retaliation from deputies.

According to the LASD any prisoner may submit an appeal and have grievances resolved relating to any condition of confinement and each sheriff’s unit should have a designated Inmate Complaint Coordinator and an adequate supply of Inmate Complaint Forms available with unrestricted access. All prisoners are permitted to report a complaint whether or not it is on the designated form and each housing area should have a locked repository accessible to prisoners where they are allowed to deposit their completed forms without interference. Unfortunately we’ve found that this is often not the case.

For a short time the LASD tried to implement iPad complaint forms within the jails, but they were poorly managed, had little to no access to wifi, and didn’t offer the prisoners any kind of confirmation number.

Should I worry about retaliation from deputies?

Retaliation from deputies is a real threat. We’ve received reports from prisoners being harassed or neglected after submitting complaints and family members being followed home and intimidated. Remember, this is the department that was comfortable intimidating the FBI.

But don’t let this keep you from speaking out and demanding what is right for you or your loved one! We’ve got your back and we’re fighting to make the complaint process safe and effective for all incarcerated people, their families, and communities.

What kinds of complaints does the LASD get?

According to the ACLU of Southern California Jails Project and based on our communication with DPN members, common in-custody complaints include not receiving or delays in medical care, not receiving required diet, property missing or destroyed, denied access to menstrual supplies or toilet paper, dirty housing and linen, plumbing issues, problems with grievance system, not receiving showers or recreation time, use of excessive force, verbal abuse, arbitrary discipline practices, not receiving religious services, and fear for life.

Have complaints helped improve conditions?

Sadly, no. Use of force has gone up, self harm and suicides are an epidemic, and the county is attempting to build two more jails and incarcerate 6,000 more people. The only way to improve conditions is by changing the focus from incarceration to community resources and building healthy communities. #AllJailsAreFails

Can Dignity and Power Now help me?

That’s what we’re here for! Contact us about your experience or how to get involved. Attend one of our upcoming events like our pop-up arts and wellness series outside of the jails this summer or one of the monthly Civilian Oversight Meetings. Join the movement to build dignity and power for all incarcerated people, their loved ones, and communities!

For more on the complaint process watch this video and see the ACLU, DPN, and the Youth Justice Coalition present to the Civilian Oversight Commission and recommend how to improve it.

Compton Moms Fight Back Against a System that Targets Their Families

A week ago DPN and the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence turned out to the first town hall put on by the Civilian Oversight Commission. Despite the Lakewood venue being far away and difficult to find we showed up along with organization members of our coalition including the Youth Justice Coalition, Black Jewish Justice Alliance, and the ACLU. The evening though belonged to a team of five mothers, four of them DPN members, who’ve been fighting to expose sheriff’s deputies that have been targeting their families in Compton for months.

Alicia had been coming to every single commission meeting demanding justice for her sons. Every month she shows up. Every month she continues to tell the story of the sheriff’s department raiding her house and wrongfully arresting her sons for a shooting in the area. Every month she vows to keep coming until the commission, the Inspector General, anyone will hold the sheriff accountable for tearing her family apart and holding her sons in custody.

Helen Jones protests with DPN outside of Men’s Central Jail where her son was killed by deputies who called it a suicide in 2009.

One of the mothers, a Youth Justice Coalition leader, shared all the steps she’s been going through to protect her son who is currently in the jails and is not being treated for very serious health conditions. She vividly described not only his medical condition but the process she has been dragged through to advocate for her son who is receiving zero care. You can’t make this stuff up. You can’t stop fighting.

Watch our latest collaboration with Fusion on medical neglect inside prisons and jails:

The data presented by the Inspector General’s Office at the regular commission meeting last Thursday was more confirmation of what Dignity and Power Now has been saying from the beginning: the Los Angeles jails are killing our people. We’ve known this. The Department of Justice has known this. The Sheriff has known this. The anonymous source who contacted us to tip us off of another serious suicide attempt two days ago knew this. Helen, whose son was beaten to death by deputies who called it a suicide, knows this.

The LA Times highlighted our work this week around exposing jail suicides:

‘How many people are being shot?’ L.A. sheriff’s watchdog decries lack of transparency

A little more than two years ago, the primary watchdog over the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department laid out numerous ways the agency was failing to provide the public with basic information about how often deputies use force, the number of complaints alleging misconduct and how many deputies were being disciplined.

Over the last five years the rate of “self-directed violence” as reported by the Inspector General has quadrupled. It’s a crisis in the realest sense of the word and the common denominator is a jail system that destroys the lives of our loved ones.

Through and To the Criminal Judicial System

My personal experience brought me through and to the criminal judicial system. I was found guilty at trial for something that I did not do and was sentenced to one year in county jail. While incarcerated for 6 months in 2011 at the Century Regional Detention Facility (CRDF), I was sexually abused by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies and by medical staff.

When I filed complaints in my first month at CRDF they all fell on deaf ears.

This experience brought me to my role as a Dignity and Power Now campaign lead for support of a Civilian Oversight Commission over the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

As campaign lead I researched for one year civilian oversight commissions and review boards all across the US, Canada, and Europe. My research included budgets, size of police and sheriff’s departments, salaries, staffing, litigation costs, subpoena power, how many commission members, policy, and protocol. I consistently brought forth pertinent information to share with the working group members like what was working for oversight/review boards across the US and what is necessary for future effective civilian oversight commissions.

My research was to sharpen our knowledge of our 5 non-negotiable demands. Subpoena power, no former or current law enforcement, direct the work of the Office of Inspector General, a nine seat panel, and independent counsel. After one year here is what we won: 1. no current law enforcement, 2. nine seat member commission. Now we are in a fight for the Civilian Oversight Commission to obtain subpoena power by changing County Charter.

The purpose of subpoena power is to have access to police personnel files for more transparency and accountability within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department during investigations regarding police misconduct and excessive use of force. Without subpoena power we simply have an incomplete investigation.

This type of thorough investigation would have helped my personal experience at Century Regional Detention Facility. A civilian oversight commission with subpoena power increases transparency and accountability within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department during police misconduct investigations.

My personal experience with advocacy is hands-on education and learning with the American Civil Liberties Union in April 2016. I went to the capital in Sacramento and learned how to lobby senators, assemblymen, and assemblywomen with an ACLU constitutional attorney in support of SB-1286. SB-1286 (or the Police Officer Misconduct Bill) is a bill that would grant subpoena power to all civilian oversight/review boards in the state of California. Although currently waiting to be brought up again in the next bill cycle, SB-1286 is another viable route to make sure Los Angeles County’s Civilian Oversight Commission has the power it needs to be effective.

Stay tuned to our blog or subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with my work as civilian oversight campaign lead and the fight to change County Charter and pass SB-1286!

St. Anne’s Interns Review Working Group Meeting

The women from St Anne’s have been relentlessly making phone calls and attending working group meetings in support of a civilian review board with power. Here they offer their reviews on what it felt like to participate in the working group process.

“My experience was very nervous today because I chose to speak about my oldest brother and why he is doing time. I feel great that they felt my story was a great story and decided not to keep the vote going on with having the nine-member board. What I also liked is that this time they actually seem to be interested in what we were talking about and just listened and didn’t have any bad feedback. Then what I didn’t like is that it was really frustrating that they were on the same vote for an hour and still weren’t satisfied with what they decided on. I also thought that was very confusing.” – Tonisha Jackson

“I just feel that they didn’t care about the community. The community has to be there because they are the ones watching deaths, shootings, and abuse from the sheriff’s department. They are never going to understand the community because they re not in the community’s shoes. On a civilian review board, some people on the working group didn’t pay attention to the title of the discussion today.” – Ana Angeles

“There was a lot of discussion back and forth over two words, ‘and’ and ‘or.’ I also spoke for the first time and I was nervous. My hands were cold after I spoke. There are a lot of options about the nine-member board. It is hard to pay attention because most of the time they ignore what the people say. The community is what matters. The public should be heard because we are affected, not the people up on the board. Because why? White people almost get away with everything. The black and brown community is the one getting affected. The right thing is to stop sheriff violence. Get your voice heard to make sure the violence is stopped.” – Diana Villeda

“I feel they are not really trying to give us what we want as far as the nine-member board. I feel that they’re not trying to let us be involved as far as having to say to pick four members that have been directly impacted. I feel they want all kinds of law enforcement and lawyers. That they all know and keep everything private and away from the people that care. I feel like they spent our time talking about choosing words and fixing grammar when they need to get straight to the point.” – Shaerice Brooks

“Why did they take up so much time deciding on one little word such as ‘and’ or ‘or’? It shouldn’t take rocket science to figure that out. They also want to get the sheriff department involved, why? It’s not about them and what they want shouldn’t matter. I matter. The people that have witnessed and experienced for themselves matter. It’s so stressful to try and make them understand. If it takes to go up there, to call, and to show up to their doorstep, then so be it. I’m a person who knows what I want. We know what we want. We want change. Because at the end of the day, we matter.” – Jasmine Brandon

personal stories Archives - Dignity and Power Now