One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Lawyer: LA sheriff's deputies target blacks, Latinos
Arzenia Ratlyff and Darrell Logan hold a photo of their son Darrell Logan, Jr.
(
Corey Moore/KPCC
)
Listen
1:36
Lawyer: LA sheriff's deputies target blacks, Latinos
Lawyer: LA sheriff's deputies target blacks, Latinos
The family of a man shot and killed by Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies in the Antelope Valley say the incident was racially motivated, and are suing the department.
The attorney claims this is just one of several cases where racism has played a role in sheriff's department dealings.
Security guard Darrell Logan says grief has led to frustration, months after the death of his son last October.
“We still haven’t found out a lot of things," says Logan. "We don’t have a police report, no one’s returned our calls or answered our calls.”
Attorney Bradley Gage says sheriff’s deputies fired 40 shots at Darrell Logan Jr. of Palmdale.
A sheriff’s report says Logan was armed, but Gage maintains he wasn’t. Gage says the deputies who fired the shots must be held accountable.
“You probably only have a few individuals in this department that are bad," said Gage. "But these bad people keep doing bad things repeatedly. And nothing’s being done. And that goes right to the top management.”
Sponsored message
Gage has also taken legal action on behalf of another family who says racism motivated deputies to shoot and kill Christian Cobian of Lancaster a couple months ago.
Reports suggest deputies were trying to pull Cobian over for a riding a bike without a headlight. They shot him after he reached toward his waistband.
Cobian was Latino. No weapon was found.
“To me, it is utterly evident that there is a racial issue," said Miguel Coronado, speaking on behalf of the family. "Latinos and African-Americans are targeted purposely in our community.”
Attorney Bradley Gage has also filed suit on behalf of a 63-year-old woman who says deputies beat her and her son nearly a year ago in front of Antelope Valley Hospital. A surveillance camera captured the incident.
The sheriff's department has not yet commented.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
