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5 suspended in O.C. jail case - <strong>Los</strong> <strong>Angeles</strong> Times<br />
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<strong>California</strong> | <strong>Local</strong><br />
5 suspended in O.C. jail case<br />
Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson<br />
orders probe, calls for FBI<br />
investigation.<br />
By Christian Berthelsen, Christine<br />
Hanley and Stuart Pfeifer, <strong>Los</strong><br />
<strong>Angeles</strong> Times Staff Writers<br />
April 9, 2008<br />
Orange <strong>County</strong> Acting Sheriff<br />
Jack Anderson suspended five<br />
employees Tuesday and called<br />
for an FBI investigation after<br />
the release of grand jury<br />
transcripts that showed Theo<br />
Lacy jail guards relying on<br />
inmates to enforce order while<br />
they watched TV, slept, played<br />
video games and engaged in<br />
cellphone text chats.<br />
The paid suspensions include the three jailers on duty in October 2006 when John<br />
Derek Chamberlain was tortured, sodomized and beaten to death by fellow inmates<br />
during an attack that lasted nearly an hour not far from the glass-enclosed guard<br />
station.<br />
Also suspended were an internal affairs investigator who allegedly pressured a grand<br />
jury witness to reveal her testimony to him, and a women's jail guard who admitted to<br />
the grand jury investigating Chamberlain's death that she had lied during a previous<br />
appearance before it.<br />
In an interview, Anderson said he had launched what would become the largest<br />
internal affairs investigation in the history of his department. The investigation will likely<br />
involve interviews with dozens if not hundreds of current and former Theo Lacy<br />
employees, he said.<br />
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-inmate9apr09,1,7821801.story<br />
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5 suspended in O.C. jail case - <strong>Los</strong> <strong>Angeles</strong> Times<br />
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"I've given orders to find everybody identified in the grand jury report and move<br />
forward," he said. "I can't think of a lower standard they were acting at. This is clearly a<br />
case of supervisors not doing their jobs and deputies who felt it was OK to behave this<br />
way."<br />
He said the grand jury transcripts painted an unsettling picture of the jail system and<br />
illustrated a complete breakdown in command structure: "Where were the sergeants?<br />
There was a failure to supervise and failure to manage."<br />
At Theo Lacy, some 25 sergeants, seven lieutenants and one captain monitored about<br />
400 deputies and correctional officers.<br />
If sergeants had been properly keeping watch, Anderson said, they certainly would<br />
have noticed deputies watching movies and sending cellphone text messages when<br />
they should have been prowling the jail checking on inmates.<br />
Anderson also invited the FBI to investigate possible violations of Chamberlain's civil<br />
rights.<br />
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agency had agreed to meet with Anderson<br />
and other Orange <strong>County</strong> officials to determine whether an inquiry was warranted.<br />
Chamberlain, charged with possessing child pornography, was killed Oct. 5, 2006, by<br />
inmates who mistakenly believed he was charged with child molestation -- information<br />
that inmates say was provided to them by a jail deputy.<br />
The 7,000 transcript pages show that policy violations appeared to contribute to<br />
Chamberlain's death, and that during the grand jury investigation, deputies and highranking<br />
officials lied, tampered with evidence, shared information about evidence and<br />
lines of questioning, and dodged testifying by asserting their 5th Amendment right<br />
against self-incrimination.<br />
According to those who did testify, jail guard Kevin Taylor was watching "Cops" and<br />
exchanging 22 personal text messages while Chamberlain was being sodomized and<br />
beaten.<br />
Deputy Jason Chapluk and Special Officer Phillip Le, who were also on duty that night,<br />
said they didn't notice the attack until after it was over.<br />
Anderson questioned why two and three jail guards were in the guard station at one<br />
time, saying that only one was supposed to be there while the other two walked the<br />
floor. He called deputies' personal use of cellphones during work "certainly a<br />
distraction."<br />
"At the end of the day, the deputies were not doing their core responsibilities," he said.<br />
"Supervisors were not making sure they were doing it."<br />
Asked how far he would go in disciplining department staff found in violation, Anderson<br />
said: "I will take it as far as I can take it, and termination will not be enough for me."<br />
In the meantime, Anderson said he had taken steps to improve security in the jails and<br />
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-inmate9apr09,1,7821801.story<br />
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5 suspended in O.C. jail case - <strong>Los</strong> <strong>Angeles</strong> Times<br />
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make the Sheriff's <strong>Department</strong> more accountable. They include removing TVs from<br />
guard stations, banning deputies from possessing cellphones and other personal<br />
electronic devices while on duty, and creating special housing areas for inmates at risk<br />
of attack.<br />
Anderson also plans to install more video cameras to eliminate blind spots in the jails<br />
and to monitor deputies' activities in work areas. The department is also creating a<br />
daily log book to record guards' activities "that is not vulnerable to unauthorized<br />
editing," he said, in an apparent reference to allegations that deputies tampered with<br />
log evidence submitted to the grand jury.<br />
<strong>County</strong> supervisors said they shared Anderson's outrage over the grand jury findings,<br />
and agreed the department needed to change.<br />
"We have a clear case of human failure. It is a time for repentance, and maybe a little<br />
restitution," said board chairman John Moorlach. "We have to do something about<br />
restoring our reputation."<br />
Wayne Quint, president of the union representing sheriff's deputies, said Tuesday that<br />
the department's jails are safe, and that it would be unfortunate if the Chamberlain case<br />
were used to vilify the whole department.<br />
He said county supervisors needed to keep in mind that inmate-to-guard ratios are<br />
disproportionate. On the night Chamberlain was killed, there were only two deputies<br />
and one special officer in charge of 300 inmates.<br />
"That's a ratio of 100 to 1, and it should be more like 14 to 1," he said. "Our deputies do<br />
a great job in a very, very difficult and violent environment. They're dealing with bad<br />
people, three-strikers, murderers. And they continue to do a great job."<br />
christian.berthelsen<br />
@latimes.com<br />
christine.hanley@latimes.com<br />
stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com<br />
Times staff writer H.G. Reza contributed to this report.<br />
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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-inmate9apr09,1,7821801.story<br />
Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson said today he<br />
has placed six department members on<br />
administrative leave for improper conduct.<br />
Discuss this development.<br />
Page 3 of 5<br />
1. Yet OC officials put him in the worst jail<br />
possible!! CHAMBERLAIN was an AMERICAN<br />
CITIZEN an did not deserve this!! If he was an<br />
4/9/2008
5 suspended in O.C. jail case - <strong>Los</strong> <strong>Angeles</strong> Times<br />
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ILLEGAL ALIEN he would have been free in 28<br />
hours like the guy who killed the African American<br />
football star and son of an Iraqui soldier!<br />
Submitted by: CHAMBERLAIN DIDNT EVEN<br />
HAVE A TRIAL!!<br />
8:38 PM PDT, Apr 8, 2008<br />
2. Corona's bodyguard was Peter Sellers. When<br />
Pete Sellers committed suicide he took Corona's<br />
secrets with him along with all the corrupt<br />
scandals with him that are starting to surface. LA<br />
TImes needs to dig deeper into why Pete Sellers<br />
committed suicide. What did he know about<br />
Corona and these bunch of thugs.<br />
Submitted by: Pete Sellers knew too much<br />
8:32 PM PDT, Apr 8, 2008<br />
3. what, you thought criminals were the only<br />
criminals?<br />
Submitted by: schnazzybo<br />
8:12 PM PDT, Apr 8, 2008<br />
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