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 is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Found Guilty Of Assaulting Inmates
LA County Sheriff's Department (Photo by KingoftheHill. via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
A jury found an L.A. County Sheriff’s deputy accused of violently beating multiple inmates over several years, guilty of three misdemeanor assault charges on Friday. At the same time, the deputy was acquitted multiple more serious felony charges for which he was being tried.
Jermaine Jackson was accused by L.A. County prosecutors of savagely beating inmates at a County Sheriff’s Dept. lockup in Compton, as well as the infamous Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, according to the L.A. Times.
While the FBI was investigating the Sheriff’s department for reported abuse in several of its facilities at the same time as Jackson’s abuse, Jackson’s arrest actually resulted from an internal investigation by the Sheriff’s department itself.
On December 31, 2009, Jackson grabbed an inmate at the Compton lockup by his shirt, threw him down to the ground, and repeatedly punched and kicked him in the head. The inmate, named Cesar Campana, sustained severe injuries.
On December 25th, 2010, Jackson was involved in a brawl that stemmed from an unwarranted search. The search turned violent on all sides, and Jackson punched an inmate’s head hard enough that the inmate passed out. When the time came to file a report, Jackson lied about it incident and said the inmate was trafficking contraband. The inmate had none in reality.
Deputy District Attorney Ann Marie Wise argued that Jackson was prone to using his fists and unreasonable force to subdue inmates.
“Deputy Jackson solves problems in the jail with his fists” and then “filed false reports ... to justify his actions,” Wise said in court, according to the Daily News.
Sponsored message
Jurors are still deliberating one felony count involving Campana, with a decision expected Monday.
Convictions against troubled Sheriff's Department employees has been relatively common of late. Most notably, former undersheriff Paul Tanaka was found guilty of wide ranging conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges two weeks ago.
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
