Brady List investigation

In the 1970s, Los Angeles police officers were furious that past complaints against them increasingly were making their way into court cases.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Jose Ovalle was suspended after he poured taco sauce on a shirt to mimic blood during a 2003 assault investigation.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell learned for the first time about misconduct by some of his own deputies from a Times report this month that examined a confidential roster of problem officers, he said.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has launched a comprehensive review of past criminal cases featuring deputies placed on a secret Sheriff’s Department list of officers whose histories of misconduct could undermine their credibility in court.

The debate over a secret list of 300 Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies with histories of dishonesty or similar misconduct is now before the California Supreme Court.

The names of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies who’ve lied, stolen, falsified reports and committed other types of “moral” misconduct are confidential and cannot be handed over to prosecutors — even in pending criminal cases in which the deputies are listed as potential witnesses — a Los Angeles appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The case seemed open and shut. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt.

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s civilian oversight commission on Thursday backed Sheriff Jim McDonnell’s attempt to send prosecutors the names of deputies found to have committed serious misconduct on the job.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has collected the names of about 300 deputies who have a history of past misconduct — such as domestic violence, theft, bribery and brutality — that could damage their credibility if they testify in court.