LA County Probation Department Places 66 Officers on Leave Amid Disciplinary Investigations

LOS ANGELES — The LA County Probation Department today announced that it has put 66 sworn probation officers on administrative leave since Jan. 1 pending internal affairs investigations into allegations of official misconduct, including at county juvenile facilities.

“The Department is releasing this information to regain public trust as it roots out employees who cultivate or contribute to a culture of violence, drug use, neglect and sexual misconduct in the nation’s largest probation agency,” said Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa.

“We are releasing this information in the spirit of greater transparency and to assure our stakeholders — especially the families of youths in our juvenile facilities — that we will not tolerate anything that impedes our mission to provide a safe, nurturing and structured environment for those entrusted to our care.”

Those placed on leave were assigned to both the Department’s adult and juvenile operations.

Of the 66 officers placed on leave, 39 were for issues of general misconduct, which includes suspected use of excessive force, child endangerment or abuse, possession of contraband, and negligent supervision.

In addition, 18 were put on leave for suspected sexual misconduct and nine for arrests unrelated to employment.

The number of those placed on leave for general misconduct includes 14 officers — two more than previously announced — related to youth-on-youth violence at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. These cases are now under investigation by the California Attorney General, who is handling the matter while the Probation Department restructures its Internal Affairs Unit.

Viera Rosa said all the officers placed on leave since the first of the year represent a small minority of the Department’s nearly 2,800 sworn personnel.

“It is out of respect for the majority of our officers, who perform their duties each day with integrity, that we moved quickly on these cases,” he said. “It’s not right that the majority should be tarnished by the misconduct of a few. We will not tolerate anything that is an affront to our mission and a disgrace to the important work we do.”