The nation’s largest jail system is being investigated by the FBI – triggered by a jail monitor’s report witnessing jail deputies beat a prisoner unconscious.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department reported that the FBI used a detainee to smuggle a cell phone inside the jail and communicated information to FBI agents.
The investigation was first reported in the Los Angeles Times.
The Los Angeles County jail system has about 15,000 pre-trial detainees and prisoners with several independent agencies monitoring it because of poor conditions, that include complaints about dead rats in cells and overflowing toilets.
American Civil Liberties Union legal director Peter Eliasberg says that detainees are packed into dorms double its designed capacity, which contributes to complaints about the central jail downtown.
Beginning Oct. 1, thousands more offenders will be “realigned” to serve prison sentences in this massive jail system that, over the last decade, has been plagued with riots, killings, huge settlements, and even a gang-like deputy clique, the LA Times reported.