The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved a wide-ranging motion designed to identify purported deputy gangs within the sheriff’s department, including development of a list of all such internal cliques and an update on the status of investigations the groups and their members.
“The existence of deputy gangs within LASD is not a secret, but a well-known problem that has cost the county millions of dollars, inflicted an enormous amount of harm and trauma on communities, and eroded decades of trust between LASD and impacted communities,” according to a motion presented by Supervisor Holly Mitchell.
Overall, Mitchell’s motion calls on county staff to take a series of steps toward identifying and cataloguing deputy gangs, asking that they report in 120 days with a “comprehensive framework” for doing so. It also called on the sheriff and other county agencies to develop a process for publicly identifying gangs, but to develop a confidential report to the board in 120 days listing all suspected gangs in the department, a summary of the status of pending investigations concerning allegations relating to gangs and an explanation of whether current investigations include a requirement for deputies to show tattoos on their arms and legs.
Among other measures, the motion also called for the development of a publicly accessible reporting system to document complaints and allegations of deputy gangs.
During an earlier board discussion in September, Mitchell acknowledged that there has been progress within the department addressing the issue, and the goal of the latest motion “is to keep that progress moving forward and to not only engage the sheriff’s department but other county departments as well.”
“This motion is about addressing the system that allows this problem to continue,” Mitchell said at the time. “It seeks to determine what we know about deputy gangs, … how we identify these subgroups … and what options are available to this board to hold these groups responsible.
“… It does not validate or invalidate every allegation, nor does it assume every group of deputies is a gang.”
Sheriff Robert Luna gave a lengthy presentation to the board in September outlining what he called a series of measures taken during his administration to root out gangs within the department, saying he maintains a zero-tolerance policy.
He said he took issue with some of the wording in the motion, saying it could undermine public confidence in the agency by suggesting nothing was being done about the issue. He conceded that more work needed to be done, but tried to convince the board that significant progress has been made.
The issue of alleged deputy gangs has long plagued the department. Mitchell’s motion listed more than two dozen such gangs within the agency, and included some examples of instances of alleged deputy gang activity. The motion pointed to a 2024 report that multiple deputies at the Lakewood station shared a common tattoo, and another instance of deputies at the Norwalk station being involved in a gang using “Nazi-like imagery.”
“Deputy gangs are not a problem of the past, but a persistent issue that continues today,” Mitchell’s motion states. “Notifications to LASD regarding alleged deputy gangs have been made as recently as June 2025, based on data provided to the (Office of Inspector General) in December 2025. If the existence of deputy gangs is not adequately addressed and resolved, this problem will continue to plague the County.”
Supervisor Janice Hahn said she was particularly interested in a directive in the motion calling for a department-wide ban on the possession and display of racists symbols on insignias. She said she was disappointed to learn that such a directive would have to go through a meet-and-confer process with deputy unions — a process that could take years.
“It is completely unacceptable that a policy to ban racist, hateful, white supremacist symbols within the sheriff’s department could be held up for years in the meet and confer process with our unions,” Hahn said in a statement. “Dragging out implementing a policy this fundamental would undermine the public’s trust and hurt the morale of our deputies.
“I urge the sheriff to work quickly to put forward a ban on any racist, homophobic, white supremacist symbol from appearing in his department. And when this policy inevitably goes to meet and confer, it is essential that the only thing up for negotiation is how noncompliance will be disciplined — not the ban itself.”