Los Angeles County Settles Civil Rights Case With Feds

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — The nation's largest sheriff's department agreed to a sweeping settlement Tuesday with the U.S. Justice Department over allegations of long-standing civil rights abuses by deputies in the Mojave Desert.

The deal approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors comes less than two years after federal prosecutors identified an alleged pattern of discrimination that included unconstitutional stops, searches, seizures and excessive force against blacks and Hispanics in Palmdale and Lancaster.

Deputies harassed and intimidated blacks and others in public housing, showing up for inspections with as many as nine officers, sometimes with guns drawn, the Justice Department said in its June 2013 report.

"I can't sleep. I'm constantly looking out the window. I take medication now because of what they did to me," said Toni Clark, a plaintiff, who explained that she was harassed multiple times by deputies within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department while living in low-income, subsidized housing in Palmdale in 2008.

Under the agreement approved 4-1 by the board, the Sheriff's Department admitted no wrongdoing, but agreed to be monitored by three outside experts and must meet 150 requirements over the next four years.

It also agreed to pay $700,000 to residents who were harmed by alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act, much less than the $12 million the government once sought, and a $25,000 penalty.

"I continuously was harassed. Continuously," added Clark, who said she was told she would receive $20,000 as a result of the settlement. She also said the situation with law enforcement has improved within the past two years.

In a statement, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department said in part: "This agreement will enable the LASD to bring the highest standards of constitutional policing and robust training models to our staff."

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