An LAPD gang? Internal report says police unit had rampant culture of misconduct

The LAPD internal investigation leveled a troubling allegation: Officers in a specialized unit tasked with combating street gangs had themselves behaved like a gang.In 2023, officers in the San Fernando Valley were accused of making dozens of improper traffic stops and attempting to hide their actions from their supervisors by switching off their body cameras.When confronted by Internal Affairs detectives, according to the findings of a months-long probe, officers in the Valley’s “gang enforcement detail” said they were engaged in a “gun hunting competition,” with each firearm-related arrest tracked on a whiteboard in their office.Cops with the most seizures would pose for pictures with pro-wrestling-style championship belt that had “Mission GED Pistoleros” emblazoned on the buckle.The Internal Affairs report, like most records around police discipline, was kept confidential by the LAPD and its findings have not previously been made public.

The report said the Valley unit was a “law enforcement gang.” Allegations of deputy gangs operating within the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department have been well documented, but this is the first known instance of the LAPD using the label on its own officers.California state law defines a “law enforcement gang” as a group of officers “who engage in a pattern of on-duty behavior that intentionally violates the law or fundamental principles of professional policing.”LAPD leaders said at the time that the problems were confined to that one division.

But a new case involving a similar allegations against anti-gang officers operating out of South L.A.’s 77th Street patrol area has reignited questions about whether there are deeper issues across the department.In late May, the 77th Street gang squad was temporarily disbanded amid an internal investigation into misconduct that was allegedly driven by a push to seize illegal firearms.California Members of the 77th Street Division gang enforcement unit have...