LYNWOOD : City Board to Monitor Conduct of Deputies
Worried that citizens’ complaints about the Lynwood Sheriff’s Station “go into a black box, never to be heard of again,” the City Council has authorized the formation of a five-member Law Enforcement Review Board to monitor deputy misconduct charges against the department.
Councilman Paul Richards, who had suggested more than a year ago that a review panel be created, urged the council to pass an emergency measure to put the panel together immediately. Richards said a forum for residents to vent their anger and frustration, as well as pass along accolades, is sorely needed in the wake of the riots following the Rodney G. King verdicts.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department currently handles all citizens’ complaints in-house through its Internal Affairs Division. By law, the results of those investigations are not made public because they become part of an officer’s personal file.
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