Sixty-six probation officers have been put on administrative leave for internal affairs investigations into allegations of misconduct since the beginning of the year, the L.A. County Probation Department announced Monday.
Of those officers, more than half were put on leave for general misconduct, which includes a suspected use of excessive force, child endangerment or abuse, possession of contraband, and negligent supervision, the department added.
“We are releasing this information in the spirit of greater transparency and to assure our stakeholders — especially the families of youths in our juvenile facilities — that we will not tolerate anything that impedes our mission to provide a safe, nurturing and structured environment for those entrusted to our care,” chief Guillermo Viera Rosa said in a statement.
The people placed on leave were assigned to both adult and juvenile facilities, and some of the allegations of official misconduct were at county juvenile facilities.
Eighteen were put on leave for suspected sexual misconduct, and nine were for arrests unrelated to their employment, according to the department.
Another 39 were for general misconduct issues, including 14 officers related to youth-on-youth violence at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. Those cases are being investigated by the California attorney general while the department’s Internal Affairs unit is restructured.
Viera Rosa said in a statement that the officers on leave represent a small minority of the department’s nearly 2,800 sworn staff.
“It is out of respect for the majority of our officers, who perform their duties each day with integrity, that we moved quickly on these cases,” he said in a statement. “It’s not right that the majority should be tarnished by the misconduct of a few. We will not tolerate anything that is an affront to our mission and a disgrace to the important work we do.”
Last year, L.A. County transferred nearly 300 incarcerated youths to Los Padrinos after a state agency found that juvenile detention facilities in Sylmar and near downtown L.A. were unsuitable. The board voted in April to keep Los Padrinos open.
Some of the facilities, including Los Padrinos, have been troubled with lockdowns, escapes, and other issues over the past year. It has also come under scrutiny based on accusations that the county failed to meet safety, staffing and other requirements imposed by the state. In January, eight officers were placed on leave for allegedly allowing fighting among the young detainees.
The department in a statement to LAist said "The Department has no further comment as these matters are under investigation."
