LA County Housing Agency, Palmdale, Lancaster Settle Section 8 Discrimination Case

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles County public housing agency and two Mojave Desert cities have reached a $2 million settlement to resolve allegations they discriminated against black people by discouraging them from living in their communities, the Department of Justice announced Monday.

Between 2004 and 2011, the department said, the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster teamed up with Housing Authority of Los Angeles County and the sheriff's department for a targeted campaign of discriminatory enforcement against black people who used public housing vouchers.

The efforts were designed to discourage and exclude black people from living in the cities about 40 miles northeast of Los Angeles, the Justice Department said.

Emilio Salas, deputy executive director of the housing authority, denied the allegations and said the agency only agreed to the settlement because protracted litigation didn't make financial sense.

"We wanted to move forward," Salas said. "Let's bring a close to this matter, let's go about the business of housing people."

He said the agency has overhauled its enforcement measures after meeting with the NAACP and the Justice Department in 2011, when federal prosecutors began the investigation into discrimination in Palmdale and Lancaster.

Under the settlement, the housing authority has agreed to pay nearly $2 million to those claiming discrimination.

Noel Doran, assistant city attorney for Palmdale, said the allegations against the city are "absolutely false."

He reiterated that the housing authority is responsible for paying the entire settlement and stressed that the city was wrongfully caught up in the investigation because it helped fund fraud investigations by the housing authority.

In April, the sheriff's department reached a $700,000 settlement with the Justice Department after federal prosecutors found a pattern of discrimination in Palmdale and Lancaster that included unconstitutional stops, searches and seizures, and excessive force against black and Hispanic residents.

Deputies harassed and intimidated minorities by showing up for inspections with as many as nine officers, sometimes with guns drawn, the Justice Department said in a June 2013 report.

Under terms of that settlement, the sheriff's department agreed to be monitored by three outside experts and meet 150 requirements over the next four years.

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