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Officials Probe LA County Sheriff's Department Over Alleged Minority Housing Discrimination

 
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Department of Justice is investigating the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department over allegations that deputies discriminated against residents of subsidized housing.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Thursday that justice officials are launching a "pattern or practice" probe into the nation's largest sheriff's department.

Whitmore says Sheriff Lee Baca welcomes the investigation, which stems from old allegations that deputies had been engaged in discriminatory practices against minorities in government subsidized housing in Lancaster and Palmdale. two cities in the north county.

Whitmore says the sheriff's department has already worked with an oversight agency and any problems have already been resolved.

He says Baca met with justice officials Thursday and will be attending a news conference Friday to announce the probe.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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