LOS ANGELES - Federal agents charged 18 current and former members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Monday, accusing them of excessive use of force and obstruction of justice as part of a sprawling, yearslong investigation into allegations of misconduct and abuse of inmates in county jails, federal law enforcement officials said.
Several officers, including high-ranking officials, were taken into custody. Federal officials were working with the Sheriff's Department to see that all those charged turned themselves in.
The Los Angeles County jails have been under intense federal scrutiny for more than two years following a string of lawsuits that accused deputies of targeting and abusing inmates. One case brought before a grand jury focused on whether sheriff's officials tried to hide an inmate who was working as an informer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The county's jail system is the largest such system in the country, and many advocates say that it is the most troubled.
The allegations come at a particularly difficult time for Sheriff Lee Baca, who is facing several challengers in his campaign for re-election next year. Sheriff Baca has repeatedly said that he has responded to all charges of misconduct as soon as he was aware of them, but critics like the American Civil Liberties Union say that he willfully ignored persistent problems.
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