Although not unique to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, it suffers from the most prolific case of the existence of law enforcement gangs in the state.
[2] Since 2022, California Penal Code § 13670 has defined a law enforcement gang as follows: "Law enforcement gang" means a group of peace officers within a law enforcement agency who may identify themselves by a name and may be associated with an identifying symbol, including, but not limited to, matching tattoos, and who engage in a pattern of on-duty behavior that intentionally violates the law or fundamental principles of professional policing, including, but not limited to, excluding, harassing, or discriminating against any individual based on a protected category under federal or state antidiscrimination laws, engaging in or promoting conduct that violates the rights of other employees or members of the public, violating agency policy, the persistent practice of unlawful detention or use of excessive force in circumstances where it is known to be unjustified, falsifying police reports, fabricating or destroying evidence, targeting persons for enforcement based solely on protected characteristics of those persons, theft, unauthorized use of alcohol or drugs on duty, unlawful or unauthorized protection of other members from disciplinary actions, and retaliation against other officers who threaten or interfere with the activities of the group.Additionally, via California Penal Code § 186.22, California has for decades defined a criminal gang as "an ongoing, organized association or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts enumerated in subdivision (e), having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and whose members collectively engage in, or have engaged in, a pattern of criminal gang activity."
[3] The first known deputy gang to exist in the public eye was that of the "Little Devils" in 1970, based out of the East Los Angeles sheriff's station.
By the late 1980's, another deputy gang called the "Cavemen" had formed within the East Los Angeles sheriff's station.
A lawsuit filed by eight deputies and the American Civil Liberties Union alleged that the Banditos "controls the East Los Angeles station like inmates running a prison yard."
For example, after Sheriff Lee Baca appointed Paul Tanaka, a Lynwood Viking, as Undersheriff, he promoted other deputy gang members to high ranking positions within the sheriff's department in exchange for money, including Deputy Charles McDaniel.
[2] On July 21, 2021, Representative Maxine Waters requested the United States Department of Justice to investigate the existence and actions of the Compton Executioners.