West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamona.
By Doug Saunders, The Sun and Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/12/14, 5:50 PM PDT | Updated: 3 weeks, 4 days ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> In addition to four sheriff’s deputies who already have lost their jobs at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, the FBI and sheriff officials are investigating several other deputies in the San Bernardino County jail system for alleged inmate abuse, according to a document obtained Saturday by this newspaper.
The document, consisting of minutes from an internal Sheriff’s Department staff meeting distributed Wednesday, revealed that one employee had resigned, two or three were going to be terminated as a result of an FBI investigation, and several other deputies were still under investigation.
The FBI is investigating possible civil-rights violations of inmates at the center in March, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Friday.
She said the case will ultimately be submitted to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles for consideration of criminal charges.
As of Thursday, four deputies assigned to West Valley Detention Center were no longer employed by the department, but according to the document, several more employees also may be terminated, pending the outcome of the investigation by the FBI and Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff’s spokesman Randy Naquin said Saturday he couldn’t comment due to the nature of the investigation.
On Saturday, sheriff’s officials declined to comment on allegations of misconduct at the other county jails.
Sheriff John McMahon ordered an administrative investigation after allegations surfaced March 5 about the possible abuse of inmates at the Rancho Cucamonga jail, according to a sheriff’s news release on Friday.
“I will not tolerate any misconduct by department personnel,” McMahon said in a statement. “These allegations are being taken very seriously and this department is determined to get answers.”
The news comes in the wake of a jail abuse scandal in Los Angeles County in which 18 current or former sheriff’s deputies have been accused of abusing inmates at the Men’s Central Jail.
U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said the alleged incidents did “not occur in a vacuum” and that the pattern of behavior of which the defendants are accused had become “institutionalized.”
http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20140412/document-more-san-bernardino-county-jail-deputies-under-investigation-for-alleged-inmate-abuse
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May 9th
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Federal-Lawsuit-West-Valley-Detention-Center-Deputies-Tortured-Inmates-258529231.html
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May 9th
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Federal-Lawsuit-West-Valley-Detention-Center-Deputies-Tortured-Inmates-258529231.html
Federal Lawsuit: San Bernardino County Deputies "Tortured" Inmates
Six inmates who served time in a Southern California jail are seeking $150 million each in a lawsuit, alleging deputies beat and tortured them in a lockup last year, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week.
The plaintiffs allege they were subjected to electric shocks to their genitalia, were deprived of sleep, had shotguns placed to their heads and were sodomized.
The inmates said in court documents that they were handcuffed with their arms behind their backs, causing extraordinary pain
while they were jailed at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga between Jan. 1, 2013, and March of this year, the lawsuit said.
"The conduct of the defendants was willful, malicious, sadistic and designed to inflict pain and suffering upon the plaintiffs," court documents said.
Lawyer Jim Terrell described what allegedly happened to one inmate because he had metal plates in his hips.
"They actually stood on both sides of (my client) at the same time and shot into his steel hips with stun guns, and the ultimate goal
was to try to get to seven seconds," Terrell said.
They are seeking millions of dollars. Named in the lawsuit are San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon, Jeff Rose,
the commander of the West Valley Detention Center, and Deputy B. Teychea.
In April, the FBI launched its own investigation into alleged civil rights abuses at the jail, officials said.
"The agents most likely are going to trump what the deputies have been getting away with in this county for a long, long time," Terrell said.
McMahon said in a statement at the time that members of the Sheriff’s Department command staff received information about possible misconduct by
department personnel at the West Valley Detention Center and launched an investigation.
Six inmates who served time in a Southern California jail are seeking $150 million each in a lawsuit, alleging deputies beat and tortured them in a lockup last year, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week.
The plaintiffs allege they were subjected to electric shocks to their genitalia, were deprived of sleep, had shotguns placed to their heads and were sodomized.
The inmates said in court documents that they were handcuffed with their arms behind their backs, causing extraordinary pain
while they were jailed at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga between Jan. 1, 2013, and March of this year, the lawsuit said.
"The conduct of the defendants was willful, malicious, sadistic and designed to inflict pain and suffering upon the plaintiffs," court documents said.
Lawyer Jim Terrell described what allegedly happened to one inmate because he had metal plates in his hips.
"They actually stood on both sides of (my client) at the same time and shot into his steel hips with stun guns, and the ultimate goal
was to try to get to seven seconds," Terrell said.
They are seeking millions of dollars. Named in the lawsuit are San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon, Jeff Rose,
the commander of the West Valley Detention Center, and Deputy B. Teychea.
In April, the FBI launched its own investigation into alleged civil rights abuses at the jail, officials said.
"The agents most likely are going to trump what the deputies have been getting away with in this county for a long, long time," Terrell said.
McMahon said in a statement at the time that members of the Sheriff’s Department command staff received information about possible misconduct by
department personnel at the West Valley Detention Center and launched an investigation.
