Harmed by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy? What families and survivors should know

If a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy hurt you, or someone you love died after contact with the Sheriff's Department, we are sorry for what you are going through. An LASD deputy misconduct lawsuit can be brought for excessive force on the street, violence inside the county jails, a death in custody or abuse of power by a deputy. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) patrols unincorporated communities and many cities across the county, and it runs the county jails, which held about 13,200 people a day in late 2025. These cases come from many different places.

This guide explains what county oversight bodies have found about LASD, including deputy gangs and jail force, what other families and survivors have recovered, the difference between a complaint and a legal claim, and exactly where a claim against the county goes. It is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your situation, you can ask for a free, confidential review.

The Sheriff's Department at a glance

Agency	Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (Sheriff Robert Luna)
Jail population	About 13,200 people a day system-wide in October to December 2025, against a rated capacity of 12,404 beds (LASD quarterly population report)
Deaths in jail custody	2023: 45 · 2024: 32 · 2025: 46 · 2026: 31 through Sept. 21 (LASD in-custody death lists)
Force in the jails	Use-of-force incidents: 1,150 (2021), 720 (2023), 805 (2024) (Rosas monitoring panel, December 2025)
Oversight	Office of Inspector General, Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, Sybil Brand Commission, the Rosas federal consent decree and a 2015 U.S. Justice Department mental health settlement
Claims office	Board of Supervisors Claims Unit, 500 W. Temple Street, Room 383, Los Angeles; 213-974-1440

What oversight bodies found about LASD deputy gangs

For decades, the Sheriff's Department has struggled with secret groups of deputies, often tied to a single patrol station and marked by matching tattoos. In February 2023, special counsel Bert Deixler delivered a report to the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission on what it called "Deputy Gangs and Cliques." The report found at least a half dozen groups, primarily at patrol stations, and linked them to specific stations:

• Compton: the Executioners and the Gladiators
• East Los Angeles: the Banditos
• Century: the Regulators and the Spartans
• South Los Angeles: the Reapers
• Lancaster and Palmdale: the Cowboys

The report described alleged celebrations of shootings, a 2019 work slowdown at the Compton station, intimidation of deputies who would not go along, and refusals to back up disfavored deputies. Citing a RAND study, it said "as many as 15 to 20%" of deputies may belong to cliques. It also said that judgments and settlements tied to these groups had cost the county "tens of millions of dollars." The Commission adopted the report and its 27 recommendations on March 3, 2023, according to the Commission's deputy gang page.

The county's Office of Inspector General lists 19 alleged deputy groups and reports that 59 legal claims linked to them have cost more than $54 million in settlements since the early 1990s, based on a list County Counsel produced in 2020.

California's law against law enforcement gangs

Since January 1, 2022, Penal Code § 13670, added by AB 958, has required every California law enforcement agency to have a policy prohibiting participation in a "law enforcement gang," to make participation grounds for termination and to disclose those terminations to other agencies doing background checks, according to the Inspector General. Participation is also "serious misconduct" that can lead to decertification under SB 2, according to POST.

LASD's own policy banning participation in deputy gangs took effect October 18, 2024. But in its April 2025 report card, the Commission found that most of its 27 recommendations were only partly carried out or not carried out at all. A broader ban on deputy cliques and gang-related tattoos was still stuck in negotiations with deputy unions after more than two years.

Why this matters in a lawsuit: if a deputy who hurt you belonged to one of these groups, evidence that the department knew about the groups and failed to stop them can support a claim against the county itself, not just the deputy.

Force and deaths in the LA County jails

Much LASD misconduct happens inside the jails. Since 2014, the jails have been under the Rosas settlement, an ACLU class action over deputy violence at Men's Central Jail, Twin Towers and the Inmate Reception Center. In December 2025, the court-appointed monitors reported 80% compliance, and counted 34 head strikes in 2024, down from 82 in 2021, with "impermissible head strikes and accountability" still a focus.

Deaths in the jails rose again in 2025, to 46, according to the Sheriff's Department's in-custody death lists. In September 2025, Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the county and the Sheriff's Department over jail conditions, alleging inadequate medical and mental health care and preventable deaths. In December 2024, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate a 2022 Men's Central Jail video that appears to show deputies forcing a handcuffed man into a wall, after the District Attorney declined to prosecute.

If you were hurt by deputies inside a jail, our guide on suing when an inmate is beaten by deputies explains those claims. If a loved one died in custody, see our guide to deaths in the Los Angeles County jails.

What families and survivors have recovered from LA County

These are reported results in cases against Los Angeles County handled by other firms. Each was brought by the person harmed or by the family.

The special counsel's report also described two deputy-clique cases, known as the Lockett and Taylor cases, that together cost the county "just short of ten million dollars." The Gilbert and Ortega amounts were recommendations to the Board of Supervisors; we did not confirm final approval. Every case is different. Past results, including those listed here, do not predict the outcome of any other case. See our page on police brutality settlements in California for results statewide.

Who can be held responsible?

In an LASD case, the defendants are usually the deputies involved and the County of Los Angeles. The county is generally responsible under state law for what deputies do within the scope of their jobs (Government Code § 815.2), though some immunities apply. Under federal civil-rights law (42 U.S.C. § 1983), the county can also be liable if a policy, a widespread custom or a failure to train or supervise caused the harm. That is where evidence about deputy gangs, oversight findings and the Rosas monitoring can matter.

Street force claims are judged under the Fourth Amendment's standard of objective reasonableness. California law separately allows deadly force only when necessary in defense of human life (Penal Code § 835a). Deputies can raise qualified immunity on federal claims, but it does not protect them on state-law claims such as battery or the Bane Act, and it does not protect the county.

A complaint is not a claim: how each one works

Many people file a complaint about a deputy and believe they have protected their rights. They have not. These are two different things.

A complaint (discipline)

You can complain to the county's Office of Inspector General by phone at (213) 974-6100 or online, to the state's Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or to the Attorney General. A complaint can lead to an investigation, discipline or decertification. It does not get you money, and it does not stop the six-month clock for a legal claim. The Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, whose nine members were first appointed by the Board of Supervisors in 2016, lists these same complaint options.

A government claim (money damages)

Before suing the county on state-law claims such as wrongful death, battery, negligence or the Bane Act, you must present a written government claim within six months of the injury or death (Government Code § 911.2). For Los Angeles County, the claim goes to the Executive Officer, Board of Supervisors, Attention: Claims, 500 W. Temple Street, Room 383, Los Angeles, CA 90012, in person or by U.S. Mail, according to the Board of Supervisors. No online filing is listed, and each person making a claim uses a separate county claim form. The Claims Unit can be reached at 213-974-1440.

List every theory in the claim, including force, medical care and conditions. In one pending jail death case, the county argued that a theory left out of the family's government claim was barred; the judge disagreed in July 2026, Courthouse News reported. If the county rejects the claim in writing, you generally have six months to file suit. Federal § 1983 claims do not require a government claim and generally must be filed within two years. Our guide to the six-month claim deadline has more detail.

What to do now

1. Get medical care and keep every record, photo of injuries and bill.
2. Write down deputy names, badge or car numbers, the station, the date, time and place, and any witnesses.
3. Keep phone video, texts and social media posts. Ask witnesses to keep theirs.
4. If you have a pending criminal case, talk to a lawyer before giving any statement to LASD investigators.
5. Call a lawyer well before six months pass. We send preservation letters for body-camera, patrol-car and jail video, dispatch audio, use-of-force reports and the deputy's discipline history, and request records of force that are public under Penal Code § 832.7.

How LaCour Trial Lawyers handles LASD cases

We are a Pasadena-based trial firm, and our partners personally lead police misconduct and wrongful death in custody cases against Los Angeles County. We speak Spanish, and we work on contingency, so there is no fee unless there is a recovery.

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information about California and federal law and about public records as of its date. It is not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney–client relationship. Allegations in lawsuits are claims, not findings. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney advertising.