‘To me they’re punks’: Grieving families air concerns at town hall on deputy ‘gangs’

Family members of people killed by sheriff’s deputies criticized the department and demanded change at an emotionally charged town hall meeting Saturday in East Los Angeles.

Hosted by the Civilian Oversight Commission, the meeting was called to give members of the community a chance to tell Los Angeles County officials about the repercussions of so-called gangs — violent groups of inked deputies — that operate with the Sheriff’s Department.

“To me, they’re punks,” said Lisa Vargas, whose son Anthony Vargas was killed by deputies in 2018. “Our communities need to raise up and start bringing this issue to the streets.”

Several other speakers called for community action, and some questioned whether change was likely or even possible. Others reiterated long-standing complaints about the Sheriff’s Department harassment of the families of people slain by deputies.

Still others — including one of Vargas’ aunts — drew attention to the fact that Sheriff Robert Luna was not among the county officials who attended.

“Where’s Robert? Where’s Robert Luna?” said Stephanie Luna. “He’s the one who’s supposed to be here to adopt these recommendations and he’s the chair that’s missing in the room — and that’s the problem.”

The Sheriff’s Department has long faced allegations about secretive deputy groups running amok in certain stations and jails, controlling command staff and promoting a culture of violence. A Loyola Marymount University report released in 2021 identified 18 such groups that have existed over the last five decades, including the Executioners at the Compton station, the Reapers at the South L.A. station and the Little Devils at the East L.A. station, which has been a particular hot spot for trouble.

“Sadly, the East L.A. station is, to my knowledge, the incubator of deputy gangs — the Devils started here,” said commission chair Sean Kennedy.

“There have been others,” he added, “most recently the Banditos.”

In one particularly violent 2018 incident, a group of alleged Banditos attacked several new deputies at a party. Two of the targets were knocked unconscious, and the brawl sparked several investigations.

The East L.A. station is also at the center of a sprawling lawsuit filed in 2019 by eight deputies alleging they were regularly harassed by Banditos members who refused to send backup on dangerous calls and pressured them to quit.

In January, another lawsuit alleged that a new “gang” had begun forming in the East L.A. station.

And last week, deputies at the East LA. station came under scrutiny as Lisa Vargas and her family finally got their day in court.

The Vargas family sued the county in 2019, seven months after two deputies shot Anthony 13 times as he tried to get away from them. The lawsuit blamed the station’s “gang culture” as the “moving force” behind the killing. But just before the case made it to trial, a federal judge barred any mention of the Banditos or other Sheriff’s Department cliques. Closing arguments in the case are expected to begin next week.

Whatever happens in court, Saturday’s town hall could be the first of many. In a lengthy report released earlier this year, the Civilian Oversight Commission’s special counsel offered more than two dozen recommendations for eradicating deputy “gangs,” including firing captains who won’t support anti-gang policies, requiring deputies to hide any gang-related tattoos at work, notifying prosecutors whenever a gang-involved deputy is set to testify as a witness in court and holding community meetings — much like the one organized by the oversight commission this weekend.

Unlike his predecessor, Luna has acknowledged the existence of deputy “gangs,” and publicly said that he wants to end them. However, he has not yet formally accepted the report’s recommendations.

“He’s considering those,” Kennedy said. “We don’t have an answer yet, but I expect one soon.”