Colorlines, News Report, Posted: Aug 23, 2011

 The Department of Justice announced an investigation into allegations of racial discrimination by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department on Friday. Deputies in the Antelope Valley, specifically in the historically white cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, have been repeatedly accused of unwarranted stops and searches of black and Latino residents of government subsidized housing, according to the Associated Press.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is accused of attempting to identify and harass residents of subsidized housing in the region through unjustified but routine traffic stops. Additionally, the Justice Department wants to determine whether warrantless searches of housing projects by LASD deputies violated the civil rights of their low-income residents, according to AP.

These residents, many of whom receive assistance from the federal government through Section 8 or Housing Choice vouchers, have protested surprise inspections of their homes by housing authorities who are accompanied by armed sheriff’s deputies. Inspections like these are intended to make sure that the terms of assistance are being met by recipients, but are often used as an opportunity to conduct illegal searches and seizures. This unwarranted policing has many concerned that the sheriff’s department and city officials are operating with a dangerous systemic bias against residents of color.The Department of Justice announced an investigation into allegations of racial discrimination by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department on Friday. Deputies in the Antelope Valley, specifically in the historically white cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, have been repeatedly accused of unwarranted stops and searches of black and Latino residents of government subsidized housing, according to the Associated Press.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is accused of attempting to identify and harass residents of subsidized housing in the region through unjustified but routine traffic stops. Additionally, the Justice Department wants to determine whether warrantless searches of housing projects by LASD deputies violated the civil rights of their low-income residents, according to AP.

These residents, many of whom receive assistance from the federal government through Section 8 or Housing Choice vouchers, have protested surprise inspections of their homes by housing authorities who are accompanied by armed sheriff’s deputies. Inspections like these are intended to make sure that the terms of assistance are being met by recipients, but are often used as an opportunity to conduct illegal searches and seizures. This unwarranted policing has many concerned that the sheriff’s department and city officials are operating with a dangerous systemic bias against residents of color. Read more here.