Sheriff puts 6 on leave in Theo Lacy jail scandal

Acting Orange County Sheriff Jack Anderson said today he has placed six department members on administrative leave after grand jury transcripts showed that Theo Lacy jail guards watched television, played video games and engaged in cellphone text chats while relying on inmates to enforce order through threats and intimidation.

He said that more department officials would also be placed on leave in the coming days and that he had asked the FBI to investigate possible civil rights violations.

Anderson appeared before the Orange County Board of Supervisors one day after the transcripts – about 7,000 pages in total – of the investigation into the death of inmate John Derek Chamberlain in Theo Lacy jail on Oct. 5, 2006, were released.

The transcripts showed that, in addition to the policy violations that appeared to contribute to Chamberlain’s death, several deputies and more senior department officials lied to the grand jury, tampered with evidence, shared information with one another about evidence in the case and lines of questioning by the prosecutors and, in several instances – including one by then-Sheriff Michael S. Carona – avoided testifying by asserting their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.

“I am outraged at the blatant violations of our department’s policies, rules and regulations by some of the members of our department,” Anderson told the supervisors. “This behavior is disconcerting and repugnant to our department’s members.”

Anderson said he had taken several steps to improve security in the jails and make the Sheriff’s Department more accountable. They include removing televisions from pods where guards keep watch over inmates; banning deputies from possessing personal electronic devices, including cellphones, while on duty; reducing ways for inmates to find out what charges their fellow detainees are facing; creating special housing areas for inmates at risk of attack from other inmates; and installing video cameras and removing walls to eliminate blind spots in the jail.

“The actions and behavior described within the grand jury report are the absolute antithesis of our responsibility to provide justice and safety to those we are sworn to protect,” Anderson told the supervisors. “None of the reprehensible acts described in the grand jury transcripts will be tolerated or ignored.”

He quoted a speech given by Capt. Dave Wilson, the new official in charge of Theo Lacy, to the guard staff there Monday: ” ‘We are in the business of telling the truth and acting professionally. Everything we do and say is open to public review.’ ”

Asked how far he would go in disciplining department staff who were found in violation, Anderson said: “I will take it as far as I can take it and termination will not be enough for me.”

Chamberlain was arrested on a charge of possessing child pornography. Inmates beat him to death in the mistaken belief that he was facing a charge of child molestation, and claim they were given that information by a jail deputy.

christian.berthelsen

@latimes.com