‘SAD DAY’

18 LA Sheriff’s Officers Charged

Accused of abuse and misconduct in jails.

Eighteen current and former Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department officers have been charged with abuse and misconduct inside the county jails, according to a federal indictment unsealed on Monday. L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca called it a “sad day” for the department, but he insisted it is not part of a larger, institutional problem. “Please know that I respect the criminal justice system and no one is above the law,” he said at a press conference. Baca, the sheriff since 1998, is facing one of his toughest re-election campaigns yet next year. But U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said the incidents “did not take place in a vacuum,” and that the officers “demonstrated behavior that had become institutionalized.” The sheriff’s department has been dogged with abuse allegations since the 1970s.