Isn’t time way past due for Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna to deliver on his campaign pledge to “eradicate” deputy gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department instead of promoting them?
I could be wrong but wasn’t it in the Civilian Oversight Committee’s report issued in 2023 that says at least half a dozen deputy gangs or cliques existed within the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department?
Luna has acknowledged the existence of deputy gangs and publicly said he wants to end them. However, he has not yet formally accepted the report’s recommendations.
Dozens of LASD deputies ordered to show suspected gang tattoos, reveal others who have them
It is also in this same report that’s often cited by journalists and media outlets that refers to these deputy gangs as not only a cancer, but also accuses the members of these alleged gangs of creating rituals that valorize violence, such as recording all deputy-involved shootings in an official book, celebrating with shooting parties, and authorizing deputies who have shot a community member to add embellishments to their tattoos?
“It is indisputable that for nearly 50 years, Deputy Gangs and Deputy Cliques have existed within the Department and their existence and negative impacts were known to the leadership of the Department. Yet there was no sustained effort during this period to eradicate Deputy Gangs and Deputy Cliques from the Department,” the report stated.
I mean based upon not only Sherriff Luna’s personal conviction and the Civilian Oversight Committee’s report, one would be rightfully justified to conclude that he has failed in his campaign pledge to provide measurable and transparent proof that not only that these gangs actually exist but he is also doing everything within his power to “eradicate” them.
“I want to make it clear if I’m elected sheriff, there will be absolutely no tolerance for deputy gangs,” Luna said.
Luna pledges to eradicate deputy gangs if elected sheriff
If we’re keeping score, Luna must have suffered a severe case of amnesia since being sworn in on December 3, 2022, because in less than two years he’s promoted TWO members of the department with alleged deputy gang tattoos.
Unless you buy the explanation that Undersheriff April Tardy’s ink is a “station” tattoo.
CeCe Woods reported a member of the Banditos was promoted by Sheriff Luna to Division Chief in late April. Apparently, Jose “Joe” Mendoza was promoted after he covered his alleged deputy gang tattoo.
“I got it covered up,” the newly minted chief told The Times, adding: “I’m not a gang member. I’m a family guy.”
Sheriff’s Department official on decision to cover alleged deputy gang tattoo: ‘Embarrassed’
Isn’t there an old saying that says where there’s smoke, there’s fire?
Excuse me if I’m not easily persuaded but in this case of these so-called alleged” deputy gangs’ , I see a lot of smoke but very little fire.
It’s fair to argue that the strength of the existence of these gangs for public consumption has been that the tattoos worn by these deputies are at the expense of the public, without providing the public proof that the deputies do engage in criminal activities in association with these alleged “deputy gangs”.
But for the sake of argument, let us reason that deputy gangs do exist in the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department and that they are easily identifiable by tattoos, so along those lines shouldn’t the Sherriff’s hypocrisy be called into question by promoting deputies within the Department who previously sported these same tattoos to powerful positions within his executive administration?
Doesn’t promoting April Tardy and Joe Mendoza to executive positions within the Department in itself invalidate the department’s claims that they largely argue that these deputy gangs usually are identifiable by tattoos and are associated with criminal behavior and or activity?
I mean how else could you reasonably justify promoting deputies whom by your own criteria identify as deputy gangs and yet paint and demonize others as cancers to the Department?
Does this invalidate the credibility of the Civilian Oversight Commission and their reports when even Keri Blakinger at the Los Angeles Times says Sheriff Luna is ignoring the report?
Luna has acknowledged the existence of deputy gangs and publicly said he wants to end them. However, he has not yet formally accepted the report’s recommendations.
Shouldn’t the fact that these deputies were simply vilified and demonized for having tattoos but have yet to be convicted criminally for any activity or behavior associated with being linked to these deputy gangs concern folks?
In fact, Sheriff Luna is all but saying deputy gangs are allowed to exist in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as long as you don’t have any ink corroborating it.
One has to look no further than former LA County Sherriff’s candidate and former Assistant Sheriff Cecil Rhambo who also ran against former Sherriff Alex Villanueva with alleged deputy gang times himself and when pressed about how he would respond to deputies with tattoos, admitted there was little he could do unless the deputy violated policy or law.
During his campaign, Rhambo went so far as to strip to show he had no alleged deputy gang tattoos but did he take the Joe Mendoza route for “optics” sake on the campaign trail?
A judge recently ruled that a case pitting the union representing deputies against the County’s Inspector General Max Huntsman was removed from the court’s active list and is on hold pending an appeal.
And right on cue, days after the Los Angeles Times reported on an alleged deputy gang member being promoted by Luna, Huntsman is back on the prowl demanding deputies “show their tats”.
When does this dog and pony show end with someone being charged with a crime directly tied to these tattoos?
Marvin McCoy is a recurring opinion writer for 2UrbanGirls.com
