Sheriff’s Dept. OKs Unusual Suit Settlement

Under terms of an unusual arrangement to settle three lawsuits alleging misconduct against minorities by sheriff’s deputies, Los Angeles County would pay $7.5 million to 80 plaintiffs and put an additional $1.5 million into special training for deputies.

The settlement--announced Friday and expected to be approved by the Board of Supervisors--also would require the Sheriff’s Department to have a fully computerized use-of-force tracking system in place by March 1997 to identify problem deputies.

It also calls for continuing the reports on the department’s reform efforts that are prepared for county supervisors every six months by attorney Merrick Bobb until the end of 1999, 3 1/2 years longer than originally planned.

The three lawsuits involve 40 incidents that occurred in 1989 and 1990 in east Compton, Athens and Lynwood, primarily involving African American and Latino residents.

Two of the incidents resulted in shooting deaths, according to a statement of facts prepared by attorneys for the county. In one, four deputies fired 45 rounds of ammunition, hitting the victim 20 times. In the other, two deputies fatally shot a juvenile fleeing the scene of a gang-related shooting.

In a case of mistaken identity, a deputy fired 32 rounds and severely wounded the victim.

The lawsuits accused deputies of “systematic acts of shooting, killing, brutality, terrorism, house-trashing and other acts of lawlessness and wanton abuse.”

The plaintiffs also charged that they had been victims of false arrests and assaults with electronic stun guns.

Spokesmen for all sides agreed Friday that there have been fewer complaints against deputies in recent years.

But problems continue and the settlement is unusual in that it requires, beyond the customary payments to plaintiffs, expenditures by the Sheriff’s Department to try to stem future misconduct. The $1.5 million is designated for training in cultural diversity and the appropriate use of force.

Negotiations that led to Friday’s settlement followed a jury verdict last summer that awarded $611,000 to three African American men in the first of the suits to be heard.

The plaintiffs are represented by a team of 15 lawyers headed by civil rights attorney Hugh Manes.

In 1991, U.S. Dist. Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr., who heard the litigation involved in Friday’s announcement, ordered the Sheriff’s Department to strictly adhere to its own use-of-force guidelines and to send him every brutality complaint lodged against deputies.

Although some of those orders were reversed on appeal, the judge was emphatic in his 1991 evaluation of what had happened, ruling that deputies had routinely violating civil rights, were motivated by “racial hostility” and relied on “terrorist-type tactics” with the knowledge of their supervisors.

Friday, Manes said, “The Sheriff’s Department finally took these problems seriously, and that’s what the settlement agreement means.

“We think this settlement will stimulate further improvement in the department’s observance of the law. . . . Our hope is people will be better treated because deputies will be better trained and supervised.”

Sheriff Sherman Block characterized the settlement as partly “a business decision.”

“This was settled for a combination of reasons,” he said in an interview. “With nearly 100 plaintiffs, [the cases] could have gone on for years. With many of those I’m very confident we would have prevailed, and some of them would have prevailed. . . . I think [the settlement] represents a win-win for everybody.”

The sheriff later provided statistics to make another point: Lawsuits and complaints against deputies in Lynwood, Athens and East Compton have declined, despite an increase in arrests.

Lawsuits arising from incidents in the Lynwood area have dropped from 33 in 1991-92 to 10 in 1994-95, Block said. Similarly, citizen complaints against deputies have dropped from 147 to 47. At the same time, he said, arrests have increased from 8,300 in 1993 to 12,000 in 1995.

Block added that, in his view, the entire case was not necessarily racial, because some of the defendant deputies were also minorities.

Two county supervisors said Friday the settlement was the right course to follow.

“This was a terrible situation, but I think the sheriff can say we no longer have that situation going on,” Gloria Molina said.

“The minority community still feels tension. A lot of officers do not feel respect for citizens and need training. But the sheriff has received and embraced almost all the recommendations of [Bobb]. . . . We’re just going to not tolerate misconduct whatsoever.”

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, meanwhile, characterized the settlement as “better than rolling the dice and going to court and risking an outcome that’s worse.”

Attorneys for the county estimated that if all the cases went to trial, the potential damages and attorney fees could have reached $18.9 million.

County Chief Administrative Officer Sally Reed acknowledged that the settlement “is a lot of money” and said, “Obviously, the [Sheriff’s] Department has to learn from it.

“Any major law enforcement agency is going to have a certain amount of litigation and judgments to pay.” But she praised Block for being “pretty aggressive” in efforts to prevent incidents of excessive force.

The $7.5 million awarded to plaintiffs under the settlement would be paid in installments over the next 2 1/2 years, but officials noted that the total is roughly equal to the annual book-buying budget for the county library system. In addition, the county’s legal costs have risen to millions of dollars.

In 1990, reports surfaced alleging that the sheriff’s Lynwood station was the scene of racial extremism by law enforcement officers.

A group of sheriff’s deputies formed a “Vikings” association in Lynwood several years ago that was accused of extolling white supremacist beliefs.

There also have been allegations by at least three deputies, as recently as last week, that some deputies planted evidence and made false arrests of people simply because they were minorities.

But Block has changed commanders in the area and has sought to overcome questionable conduct.

He said Friday that he believes the Vikings were primarily a social organization and that there is no proof they ever took action against minorities. He said he does not believe the group still exists.

Judge Hatter called the Vikings a “neo-Nazi, white supremacist gang.” Block called this assessment “irrational and wrong.”

Times staff writer Jeffrey L. Rabin contributed to this story.