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Compton Mayor Aja Brown Says Her Community Is Being Terrorized By L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies
Compton Mayor Aja Brown (R) said on Tuesday that L.A. County Sheriff's deputies continue to inflict injustice on her community. Robert Garrova / LAist
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Compton Mayor Aja Brown joined city officials today to call out what they said is continued injustice inflicted on their community by L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputies.
Compton has a multi-million dollar contact with the Sheriff’s Department to protect the city.
But there’s a growing list of residents who say they’ve been unfairly pulled over, arrested and harassed by deputies.
Jermelle Henderson, a well-known local restaurateur who owns Taco Mell, said he was recently pulled over at gunpoint by a deputy and described the experience:
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“She said, ‘Oh, this what we do in Compton. And she pulled me out and she put me in handcuffs and then that’s when I told her she was treating me like a criminal, I didn't do anything.”
“I’m calling for Attorney General Xavier Becerra to stand up for the black and brown people of Compton,” Brown said, adding, “It is unacceptable for us to be terrorized in this community.”
In June, Brown called attention to the violent arrest of 24-year-old Dalvin Price.
Brown said she believes there is gang activity operating out of Compton station -- an allegation also recently made by a current deputy.
The Sheriff’s Department says it’s aware of the allegations and has launched multiple investigations.
“Early on, the Sheriff invited the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct their own investigation and information is actively being shared with them,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “The results of the investigation will be released when legally permissible.”
The department has also been widely-criticized for the handling of the Andrés Guardado case, in which the 18-year-old was shot in the back and killed by a deputy.
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