This is a list of gangs whose members are associated with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) (typically deputies). Press reports indicate the LASD has had a problem with gangs since at least the 1970s which has expanded to at least eighteen gangs.[1] The department has used the term "cliques" when discussing these groups.[2]
The 1992 Kolts Commission report said these were found “particularly at stations in areas heavily populated by minorities—the so-called ‘ghetto stations'—and deputies at those stations recruit persons similar in attitude to themselves.”[3] The first deputy gang acknowledged by the LASD was the "Little Devils" in a later-released internal memo in 1973. One or more deputy gangs are believed to have been involved in the death of Los Angeles Times reporter and law enforcement critic Ruben Salazar during the National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War on August 29, 1970.[4]
In July 2021, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters called for a United States Department of Justice investigation into allegations that a violent deputy gang known as the Executioners was running the Compton station of the LASD.[5]
A report released in early 2023 revealed that at least six deputy gangs remain active.[6]
List edit
- Banditos[1]
- Buffalo Soldiers[7] (African American Deputies Clique)
- Cavemen[7]
- Compton Executioners[8]
- Cowboys[7]
- Grim Reapers[1]
- Industry Indians[9]
- Jump Out Boys[1]
- Little Devils[10]
- Little Red Devils[7]
- Lomita Lizards
- Lynwood Vikings[7]
- Pirates[7]
- Posse[2]
- Rattlesnakes[2]
- Regulators[1][11]
- Spartans[7]
- Tasmanian Devils[7]
- The Leafs
- 3000 Boys[8]
- 2000 Boys[1]
- Temple Station V-Boys[12]
- Wayside Whities[13]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f Lockhart, P.R. "A new lawsuit describes a violent gang in LA County. Its members are deputy sheriffs". Vox. Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ a b c Valdez, Jonah (January 13, 2021). "They've been hidden too long': report details LA Sheriff's deputy gangs and violence toward communities of color". Daily News. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ "The Secret Society Among Lawmen". Los Angeles Times. March 24, 1999. Archived from the original on September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ "The Protected Class". Knock LA. March 22, 2021. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ Tchekmedyian, Alene (July 21, 2021). "Waters seeks federal probe of L.A. County deputies' alleged Executioners gang". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ Dickinson, Tim (March 7, 2023). "Gang Members Hold Positions at 'Highest Levels' of LA Sheriff's Department, Investigation Reveals". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "50 Years of Deputy Gangs". LMU Loyola Law School. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ a b Fremon, Celeste. "The Executioners: Does A Violent Deputy Gang Rule LA County's Compton Station?". Witness LA. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ "A bowling alley, a boozy fight and allegations of a new deputy gang in Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ "Memo" (PNG). knock-la.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
- ^ Blakinger, Keri (February 22, 2024). "Oversight investigators find deputy gang 'logo' outside Los Angeles women's jail". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Los Angeles Sheriff's Second-in-Command Has Alleged Gang Tattoo". capitalandmain.com. March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ "Letter of Complaint" (PDF). knock-la.com. May 21, 1990. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
