The Chicago Tribune reports that 18 L.A. sheriff’s officials have been indicted in connection with five different criminal cases. Four grand jury indictments have been unsealed, alleging that deputies at the Men’s Central Jail unjustly detained people, beat inmates and visitors without justification and conspired to obstruct a federal investigation into the misconduct.
One indictment alleges that deputies were encouraged by their supervising sergeant to use excessive force and unlawfully arrest visitors on at least three different occasions. Some visitors were beaten in a private break room, and one visitor had his arm fractured.
The Tribune also reports that in June 2011, the Austrian consul general and her husband were arrested while visiting an Austrian national.
