More than two dozen detention officers at a Los Angeles-area juvenile correctional facility face criminal charges for allegedly staging “gladiator fights” between youth detainees.
The indictment stems from a probe that began early last year after surveillance video was leaked to state investigators that showed several teenagers beating a 17-year-old boy in what appeared to be a string of coordinated attacks as several probation officers looked on and laughed.
The footage, obtained by the L.A. Times, shows those one-on-one fights breaking out inside a room at the Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall on Dec. 22, 2023, when several detainees were seen eating breakfast as the facility’s officers supervised them.
The youth who was targeted is seen standing at the far end of the room while multiple others file in, charge at him, and start punching him.
Each fight lasts a few seconds before the assailants cease their attacks and calmly return to eating breakfast or leaving the room. However, with each attack, the teen is visibly worn down. He suffers a barrage of kicks and punches after being knocked to the ground at least twice by two different teens.
Throughout the attacks, most of the detention officers are seen acting more as bystanders rather than running interference to de-escalate the violence. One female officer is seen on surveillance video smiling and laughing after one attack ends. A male officer who intervened in one of the fights is seen smiling and nodding at one of the attackers.
A month after the attacks, the Los Angeles County Probation Department announced that eight probation officers connected to the incident had been suspended from their positions.
After the surveillance video was leaked to the California Attorney General’s Office, an investigation was launched which ultimately led to a criminal indictment accusing 30 officers, including the director of Los Padrinos, of facilitating at least 69 fights between July and December 2023 involving 143 teen and child detainees between the ages of 12 and 18.
The accused officers were charged with child endangerment and abuse, conspiracy, and battery.
“Officers at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall have a duty to ensure the safety and well-being of those under their care. Instead, the officers charged today did just the opposite – overseeing ‘gladiator fights’ when they should have intervened,” California Attorney General Bob Bonta said in a statement.
Bonta also stated that the officers encouraged and even helped coordinate the fights.
“They often wanted them to happen at the beginning of the day, in a certain time, in a certain place. A space and a time was created for the fights, and their plan was for the fights to happen and for them to stand by as they occurred and not intervene so that they could happen. The intent was to manifest the fights,” Bonta stated, adding, “The officers look more like referees or audience members at a prize fight, not adults charged with the care and supervision of young people.”
The Times reported that an attorney for the 17-year-old victim seen in the surveillance footage of the December 2023 fight petitioned the release of her client, citing unsafe conditions. The lawyer, Sherrie Albin, said her client’s nose was broken during the attacks, but he wasn’t rendered medical treatment until days after the incident.
Albin also accused one of the officers of instigating the attack after telling the assailants that the victim was racist based on his gang affiliation and where he once lived. According to The Times, the victim is Latino and the teens who assaulted him are Black.
The judge declined to release the victim. He had already been transferred to a different unit in Los Padrinos. His parents filed a damages claim in preparation for a lawsuit.
The L.A. County Probation Department stated that it “fully applauds and supports” the indictment, adding that the staff members who have been charged have all been placed on unpaid leave.
“Accountability is a cornerstone of our mission, and we have zero tolerance for misconduct of any peace officers, especially those dealing with young people in our system,” the department said in a statement.
