NAACP Asks U.S. to Probe Alleged KKK Influence at L.A. Central Jail

The National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People called Friday for a federal investigation into reports of racial tension at the Los Angeles County Central Jail, where two crosses allegedly were burned by white deputies in quarters housing black gang members.

James Martin, director of the NAACP’s western region, said his organization has been told by inmates and unnamed deputies that some of the white jailers belong to the Ku Klux Klan, the white supremacy organization that has made burning crosses a symbol of racial hatred.

Beyond the allegation, Martin said there is no “solid evidence” any jail deputies are KKK members. Nonetheless, he told a press conference that the “NAACP is deeply concerned that KKK influence continues to exist in the Los Angeles County Jail. The Los Angeles NAACP . . . has contacted the (U.S.) attorney general with a request that they look into the situation.”

Sheriff’s Capt. William Hinkle, commander of the 6,800-inmate jail, said Martin’s statement is the first either he or members of his staff have heard of the KKK allegations, and he expressed doubt.

“I spend a lot of time in the jail talking to inmates,” Hinkle said. “To have that going on without coming to the surface is kind of hard to believe.”

The NAACP began to investigate jail conditions in December after receiving several letters, including one signed by 22 black gang members, complaining of misconduct and racial harassment, Martin said.

The Sheriff’s Department has begun an internal investigation into allegations of cross-burnings and other misconduct by deputies on the floors where gang members are kept. Four deputies and a sergeant were reassigned out of the jail this week after being accused of using “excessive force.” The FBI this week began a separate investigation into the cross-burning allegations, which first surfaced in sworn testimony at an unrelated Civil Service hearing last month.