Interesting stories: https://knock-la.com/tradition-of-violence-lasd-gang-history/ that I never heard of until now. I am lucky I didn't live in those areas or interact with cops at all when I was in Los Angeles for a short while.

Part 1 starts off with:

There are at least 18 gangs within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Officials at various government agencies, including the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, the California Senate Senate Subcommittee on Police Officer Conduct, and the United States Commission on Civil Rights have heard testimony on the violence inflicted on communities at the hands of deputy gangs for decades. And yet, there have not been any internal investigations or significant policy changes to address the issue. Deputy gangs have killed at least 19 people, all of whom were men of color. At least four of them had a mental illness. Los Angeles County keeps a list of lawsuits related to the deputy gangs. Litigation related to these cases has cost the County just over $100 million over the past 30 years. 

Lynn has his own theories about why deputy gangs are so pervasive within the department, which he draws on from his time as a Marine in Vietnam. “In Vietnam, we served in a place where we didn’t belong. We really didn’t care what happened to the people who lived there. When it was over, we were going home. We were taught that the lives of the Vietnamese didn’t carry the same weight as ours and that of our fellow soldiers,”

This makes me wonder if war contributes to the degradation of society en masse via mental issues. Bringing that propaganda and behavior back home.

I only came upon this because of the commentary on Reddit.

Commentary: https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/qvec1q/man_starts_calling_out_lasd_sheriff_at_a_press/

You got Sheriff Lee Baca and Under sheriff Paul Tanaka in prison for essentially obstruction. You have to wonder what kind of friends they are making there. 😈 Paul Tanaka was in a white supremist gang and you'd think nah no way maybe Yakuza since he is Japanese. When it comes to white supremacy though they don't care what color you are if you have some type of power that can keep it in place.

Sheriffs are typically responsible for incorporated areas, which are typically filled with whites so it is not surprising if any white supremacists gang are able to form gangs in those police departments. Given Los Angeles' proximity to Mexico, it is not surprising that Mexican gangs can form gangs in police within incorporated areas. Punish the people and non collaborators, cover shit up and profit. Things are more nuanced than a simple explanation.

All I got to say is this problem needs to be rooted from the top down.