Los Angeles County agreed to pay $2.7 million Monday to a teenager attacked by at least six young people at a juvenile detention center in a so-called “greater fight” allegedly facilitated by probation officers.
The boy’s be-hit at the boy’s hall in Los Padrinos in 2023 was filmed on surveillance video. Also, several officials showed the officers standing vaguely, and some of them shook hands with the participants in the be-hit.
The March ju judge was charged with 30 corrections officers for roles that allowed and sometimes encouraged nearly 70 fights between July and December 2023. Officers face child danger and charges of abuse, conspiracy and battery.
Authorities say more than 140 victims, between the ages of 12 and 18, were involved.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said the attack appears to be planned after the charges were announced.
“They often wanted them to happen at the beginning of the day, in a particular place, in a particular place. Space and time were created for the fight, and the plan was for the fight to happen,” he said.
The investigation began after the Los Angeles Times first obtained it and released the video footage. This shows that he was attacked by a 16-year-old who was attacked by at least six other young people and came to him one at a time as officers watched.
The video was first released during a court hearing. Meanwhile, the juvenile public defense attorney (now 17) argued to the judge that he was not safe in Lospadrino and should be released prior to trial.
His attorney, Jamal Tucson, said the settlement was a “first step” to acknowledging “bad” actions by the LA County Probation Department.
The judge today approved a plan to lower the number of young people detained in custody at the Downey troubled Los Padrino juvenile hall. Lolita Lopez is reporting an NBC4 News report on Friday, May 16th, 2025 at 3pm.
“Our priority is to protect not only my clients but all children in similar situations under the care and surveillance of the probation department,” Tucson said. “There was a lawsuit the other day. I personally represent several individuals who were hurt at the same facility.”
According to the revised action plan written by the department, staff failed to review the facility’s CCTV footage, delaying teenagers to hospitals and too long to notify their parents. To address these issues, the department will develop protocols to ensure that CCTV monitors are “staffed regularly,” conduct random video audits, and ensure that youths in detention receive medical care and parents are properly informed.
The judge ruled in April that the LA County Probation Department was unable to live in Lospadrinos and approved a plan to move more than 100 young people out of the facility in May. A California commission overseeing local correctional facilities has previously ordered Los Padrino to be closed.
Tooson believes there is a widespread “culture problems” that are spreading across probation department facilities that cannot be addressed by the revised action plan. He filed at least 19 cases in federal court, alleging the issue from issues with physical violence against sexual assault by staff at LA County Youth Detention Centers, he said.
“I think we’ll be in the same situation until we start to actively change the way people think and behaviour that are responsible for caring for these young people,” he said.
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