Demanding Reparations for LA Sheriff Deputy Violence
Loyola Law School’s work addressing the harms of policing in Los Angeles County is at the forefront of movements for both police accountability and reparations. At the Loyola Anti-Racism Center (LARC), faculty and students are working with community leaders to develop policies and legal strategies to empower families and whole communities to combat the scourge of police violence the trauma it inflicts.
On September 8-10, 2023, LARC partnered with the Check the Sheriff Coalition, Cancel the Contract, Antelope Valley, and Black Lives Matters Los Angeles to host a convening in which victims and survivors of police violence from Los Angeles County and around the country came together to determine what reparations for police violence in Southern California should look like. Over the next few months we will compile the results of the convening into a report that will form the basis for further activism and outreach to communities impacted by Sheriff Deputy violence in Los Angeles.
Our panelists included experts on reparations and intergenerational trauma: Damario Solomon-Simmons, Attorney, Justice for Greenwood and for the last three living survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre; Professor Justin Hansford, Executive Director, Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center; Mark Clements, Chicago Torture Justice Center; Joey Mogul, Attorney, People’s Law Office; Miya Iwataki, Nikkei Progressives, Reparations Committee; Dreisen Heath, Reparations strategist and organizer; Vinny Eng, Brother of Jazmyne Ha Eng, Safer Together San Francisco, Check the Sheriff; and Paula Minor, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Check the Sheriff Coalition; and Josette Banks, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, Loyola Marymount University.
Our panelists included experts on the impact of the criminal process on policing and punishment: Alex Vitale, Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, Kelly Lytle Hernàndez, Professor & Thomas E. Lifka Chair of History, UCLA; leader, Million Dollar Hoods; Cerise Castle Journalist, KnockLA; Joanna Schwartz, Professor of Law, Faculty Director, David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy; Johnny "JT" Torres, Soledad Enrichment Action; Dr. Terence Keel, Professor, UCLA Lab for BioCritical Studies and Department of African American Studies; and Sean Kennedy, Kaplan & Feldman Executive Director, Center for Juvenile Law & Policy, Associate Clinical Professor of Law; Chair, LASD Civilian Oversight Commission.
Our panelists also included people directly impacted by police violence: Lesley McSpadden, Michael O.D. Brown We Love Our Sons and Daughters Foundation; Franky Carillo, The Los Angeles Innocence Project; Helen Jones, Mother of John Horton, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Dignity and Power Now, Check the Sheriff Coalition; Stephanie Luna, Aunt of Anthony Vargas, Check the Sheriff Coalition; Mark Clements, Chicago Torture Justice Center; Vinny Eng, Brother of Jazmyne Ha Eng, Safer Together San Francisco, Check the Sheriff; and Paula Minor, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Check the Sheriff Coalition.
Each of our panels featured survivors and victims of police violence. On Friday, we heard nationally recognized reparations experts demand political empowerment that goes beyond money payments and recognize the need for broad coalition building. Our Saturday-morning panels detailed the myriad ways in which Los Angeles County not only fails to hold Sheriff Deputies accountable for the most heinous acts of violence, but actively facilitates the existence of Sheriff Deputy Gangs. On Saturday afternoon, we heard first hand about the successful campaign to obtain reparations for police violence in Chicago and discussed the role that healing intergenerational trauma must play in any reparations demand. And on Sunday, that local community organizations identified elements of their existing work on police accountability that already fit within a reparations framework.
That is just the beginning of our work with impacted families and communities. Using the feedback solicited using targeted questionnaires and discussion groups, in combination with input from local organizations and academic experts, LARC will prepare a preliminary report for community distribution.
LARC is the only law-school center in the United States working at the intersection of race, reparations, and policing. These efforts are part of a broader set of reparations initiatives that LARC has undertaken in partnership with local, state, and national organizations to pursue reparations for victims of racial oppression, and which make Loyola the leading law school engaged in the reparations theory and practice in this country.
Panels
Friday, September 8, 2023
- REPARATIONS AS ACCOUNTABILITY: LITIGATION, LEGISLATION, ORGANIZING
Justin Hansford, Executive Director, Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center
Dreisen Heath, Reparations Organizer
Miya Iwataki, Nikkei Progressives, Reparations Committee
Damario Solomon-Simmons, Justice for Greenwood
Panelist questions
- All Panelists: What does accountability mean to you?
- All Panelists: What are the obstacles and opportunities that the community can expect in pursuing reparations?
Saturday, September 9, 2023
- HISTORY OF LA SHERIFF POLICING
Franky Carrillo, Franky Carillo for Congress, The Los Angeles Innocence Project
Cerise Castle, Knock LA
Kelly Lytle Hernàndez, Professor & Thomas E. Lifka Chair of History, UCLA; leader, Million Dollar Hoods
Panelist Questions
- Franky Carrillo: What do you think the general public needs to understand about sheriff deputy gangs?
- Cerise Castle: What are the two key pieces of information you think impacted communities should know about Sheriff Gangs in Los Angeles?
- Kelly Lytle Hernandez: What are the two key pieces of information you think impacted communities should know about the history of policing in Los Angeles?
- LOS ANGELES’S COUNTY SUPPORT FOR SHERIFF GANGS
Helen Jones, Mother of John Horton, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Dignity and Power Now, Check the Sheriff Coalition
Terence Keel, Professor, UCLA Lab for BioCritical Studies and Department of African American Studies
Sean Kennedy, Kaplan & Feldman Executive Director, Center for Juvenile Law & Policy, Associate Clinical Professor of Law; Chair, LASD Civilian Oversight Commission
Panelist Questions
- Helen Jones: What has your experience with the county coroner taught you about county complicity with the Sheriffs?
- Terence Keel: What sorts of reforms could you recommend to make the coroner independent from the Sheriff?
- Sean Kennedy: What two or three items from the COC report exemplify county complicity with the Sheriffs?
- HIDDEN HARMS TO VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS
Stephanie Luna, Aunt of Anthony Vargas, Check the Sheriff Coalition
Joanna Schwartz, Professor of Law, Faculty Director, David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy
JT Torres, Soledad Enrichment Action
Panelist Questions:
- Stephanie Luna: How does private litigation harm families trying to hold the Sheriffs accountable for killing or harming loved ones?
- Joanna Schwartz: What are the obstacles and opportunities for police reform?
- Johnny "JT" Torres: What two obstacles would you highlight within impacted communities that prevent holding Sheriffs accountable for killing or harming loved ones?
- REPARATIONS FOR POLICE VIOLENCE
Mark Clements, Chicago Torture Justice Center
Joey Mogul, Chicago Torture Justice Memorials and People's Law Office
Alex Vitale, Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center
Panelist Question:
- All Panelists: What demands should communities prioritize when pursuing reparations?
- REPARATIONS AS IMAGINING ALTERNATIVES: OPPORTUNITIES FOR HEALING AND HEALTH
Josette Banks, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, Loyola Marymount University, Department of Psychological Science, Bellarmine College
Vinny Eng, Vinny Eng, Brother of Jazmyne Ha Eng, Safer Together San Francisco, Check the Sheriff
Panelist Questions:
- Josette Banks: What does intergenerational trauma look like? What does healing require?
- Vinny Eng: What support systems could be helpful for families and communities who have experienced sheriff deputy violence?
- PATHWAYS TO ACCOUNTABILITY
Lezley McSpadden, Michael O.D. Brown We Love Our Sons and Daughters Foundation
Joey Mogul, Chicago Torture Justice Memorials and People's Law Office
Alex Vitale, Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center
Panelist Questions:
- How can we achieve accountability in a system and society that favors law enforcement?
Sunday, September 10, 2023
- TAPPING IN: EXISTING ORGANIZING EFFORTS FOR LASD ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE ERADICATION OF LASD DEPUTY GANGS
Helen Jones, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Dignity and Power Now, Check the Sheriff Coalition
Paula Minor, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Dignity and Power Now, Check the Sheriff Coalition
Michael Williams, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles
Waunette Cullors, Cancel the Contract, Check the Sheriff Coalition
Raquel Derfler, Cancel the Contract, Check the Sheriff Coalition
Raycine Ector, Cancel the Contract, Check the Sheriff Coalition
Stephanie Luna, Check the Sheriff Coalition
Ambrose Brooks, JusticeLA