LA County Sheriff's Department Using Excessive Force

Elaine Mandel

Attorney

0 CommentsPrint ArticleSubscribe

A recent report on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department shows that when cops use force in arresting suspects, over half the time, that victim has "visible and verifiable" injuries.

There is a disturbing trend in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department regarding how much force their officers use when arresting suspects. A recent report on the Sheriff's Department shows that when police officers used force, the percentage of time that the force caused "visible and verifiable injuries" grew to 52% of those arrests. This means that in over half the cases where a Sheriff's Department officer uses physical force when arresting a suspect, the victim has obvious injuries, such as broken bones, scrapes, cuts or bruises.

Many times this use of force is not justified, and the victim may have a claim against the Sheriff's Department or the individual cops involved. If you think you or a family member might have a claim for injuries caused by a police officer or sheriff, it is important to contact a lawyer quickly because there are deadlines that must be followed to file a case.

The report found that even as arrests have climbed in recent years -- from 97,503 in 2000 to 107,579 last year -- the percentage of time deputies used force fell. Although the rate of use of force dropped, the overall number of incidents involving a deputy's use of force climbed from 2,233 in 2000 to 2,772 last year.

And when force was used, it was more likely to result in "visible and verifiable injuries" -- 52% of such arrests last year, up from 47% six years ago -- a trend the report said was also reflected in data available so far this year.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/los_angeles_metro/la-me-sheriff25aug25,1,991445.story?coll=la-commun-los_angeles_metro