The State - News from March 22, 1989

In harsh, blunt language, a San Diego County grand jury blasted the sheriff’s operation of the jail system, confirming that inmates were frequently beaten by deputies, that there have been internal cover-ups and that the department’s leadership--including Sheriff John Duffy--has allowed many deputies to experience “delight in cruelty to others.” The report comes after a lengthy investigation into allegations by scores of inmates at the six county detention facilities. The acts were “a routine and systematic occurrence performed by the same group of deputies,” the report said, and characterized the deputies’ conduct as “totally reprehensible and inexcusable. . . . Of equal concern is the fact that other sheriff’s deputies were aware of, or witnessed, this inmate mistreatment and did not intervene to stop it,” the report said. Sheriff’s Lt. Alan Fulmer, a department spokesman, said, “The recommendations do have merit. . . . We’re not at all upset with the report. . . . This was not totally unexpected.”