Compton Mayor Aja Brown held a press conference outside Compton City Hall, along with other civil rights activists, where they claimed the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is a danger to the community and are demanding a federal investigation into their practices.
Brown recalled her own experiences with the LASD when she detailed an incident last June, during a traffic stop.
“I rolled my window down and asked why I was being pulled over,” Brown said. “Within seconds almost seven to nine sheriff deputy vehicles descended upon the scene.”
Brown the deputies claimed she didn't stop behind the limit line, which she says was false.
"They ordered me out of my vehicle and they asked me to put my hands on top of the police vehicle so they could search me as if I were a criminal," Brown said. "Mind you, I was accompanied by my husband and my infant daughter in the back seat. I did not look like someone that is trafficking drugs."
She said that after the sheriffs found nothing, a watch commander from the Compton station got involved. She added that the deputies initially gave her a ticket, but took it back.
The Compton mayor said she filed a complaint with the LASD, but she's yet to receive any answers.
"They terrorize the community and then they cover their tracks," Brown said. "It is unacceptable, we will not take this."
The mayor told her story as city and community leaders called for an investigation into the LASD's Compton patrol station. Last week, news surfaced of an alleged deputy gang with matching tattoos known as the "Executioners."
Deputy Art Gonzalez, who worked in LASD for five years, filed a government claim in an attempt to expose the alleged group. According to Gonzalez, the "Executioners" celebrated shootings with tattooing parties and set illegal arrest quotas. Gonzalez claims he was retaliated against for coming forward earlier this year.
Compton leaders plan to request a civil rights investigation from U.S. Attorney General William Barr and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. They're also considering terminating the $22 million per year contract with the LASD to provide patrols and additional services.
Source: KABC
