L.A. County jail violence sheriff's fault, panel says (ignoring the greater problem)

A blue-ribbon commission blamed Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on Friday for a pattern of excessive force by his deputies in the county jails, warning that Baca is running out of time to fix the problems.

The article devolves into some political hit piece focusing all its attentions on the sheriff.

This isnt the first time he's been in the hot seat: 2011 ATS thread


LA Times

What I find appalling is the cavalier glossing over Fight Club-esque beating rings:

Deputies in the jails have been accused of violent beatings of inmates — several witnessed by jail volunteers, including clergy. They've been accused of participating in secret cliques that glorify the beatings, of engaging in off-duty fights and of supervisors covering up years of excessive force.

One current captain in the jail system told commissioners he found a drawer full of discarded complaints and that he was told not to look too hard at other allegations of misconduct.

NPR

So rather than focus on the real story here which is decades of abuses and crimes committed by badge wearing lunatics the articles irrationally harp on how this Republican dropped the ball in a Democratic district.

Does that seem sick to anyone but myself?

The report says these things have been ongoing and only getting worse and this one man however high ranking he may be is supposed to be the sole blame?

How about looking into why and how all these psychos came to be employees of the institution of law enforcement to begin with? Maybe check out other counties for like behavior?

Nah. that's too hard and the answer is potentially too damaging to the one of the great institutions of our free nation so we'll just harp on this scapegoat and blame him for all the evils of the world.

The sheriff isnt blameless by a longshot. He's just as sick as all the others. But pretending that a regime change will suddenly solve this widespread and ingrained culture of hate and violence is foolish and wont do anything to make anyones lives better.

Seems to me that everywhere one looks we have a government that no longer respects in citizenry, that sees the constitution as limiting the citizenry not the government. The powers that be no longer respect those they govern, and only see them as a means to enriching their own lives. Those whom we have chosen to place our trust in, have proven that trust is misplaced...