Youth detention centre allegedly forced inmates into ‘gladiator fights’
A youth detention centre in California forced inmates to take part in “gladiator fights”, a lawsuit claims.
Thirty officers at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles are alleged to have encouraged, allowed and watched up to 69 fights involving around 140 inmates, some of whom were as young as 12.
“We believe that this was planned, it was intended,” Attorney General Rob Bonta told CNN. “They often wanted them to happen at the beginning of the day, in a certain time, in a certain place.”
Speaking to NBC, he added: “The officers look more like referees or audience members at a prize fight, not adults charged with the care and supervision of young people.”
He added that officers were allegedly “overseeing ‘gladiator fights’ when they should have intervened”.
According to the indictment, unsealed on Monday, the officers face charges including child endangerment, conspiracy, abuse and battery for the fights, which took place between July and September 2023.
Officers allowed and, in some instances, encouraged the 69 fights, the indictment alleges.
An investigation into the fights was launched after a video of one of the altercations was leaked in April last year.
The footage, first obtained by the Los Angeles Times, appears to show a 17-year-old being attacked by a series of other inmates, who advance towards him one by one, as officers stand and watch.
Some officers appear to laugh and shake hands with inmates involved in the organised fight.
At one point in the video, a female probation officer steps to the side as a youth runs towards the victim and delivers a running kick.
The video was made public after a 17-year-old claimed in a court hearing last year that he was not safe at the facility.
According to the indictment, two probation officers told staff what time the fights would take place and instructed them “not to say anything, write down anything, and just watch”.
It alleged that one officer told young offenders involved to “refuse treatment when they went to medical to get treated by nurses”.
The LA County Probation Department, which manages the detention centre, said that it “fully supports and applauds” the attorney general’s office for Monday’s indictments, and that all officers involved have been placed on leave without pay.
“Our department sought the assistance of law enforcement authorities when misconduct was discovered,” the department said in a statement. “We have zero tolerance for misconduct of any peace officers, especially those dealing with young people in our system.”
A lawyer representing the 17-year-old in a civil case against the county said the indictment was the “tip of the iceberg”.
There’s a “culture that promotes a lack of accountability, violence and policies that encourage officers to look the other way as evident in the video,” Jamal Tooson told CNN. “The reaction of the children who were eating their lunch, they really didn’t seem shocked or surprised, which tells me this is a daily occurrence.”
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