Written by: Philip Remington Dunn
“For all who draw the sword, will die by the sword.” Matthew 26:52
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca is getting a taste of his own medicine. U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson refused to go along with an initial plea deal of “no more than six months” in custody in exchange for a guilty plea in which Baca would admit he lied to federal officials. Eight other Sheriff’s deputies have already been convicted of covering up and participating in a course of conduct that alleged they violently attacked County Jail inmates. Baca’s former number two, Undersheriff Paul Tanaka got five years after going to trial and being convicted by a jury. Federal prosecutors have now doubled down on Baca by quickly empaneling a Grand Jury to indict him on new more serious charges for which he could serve up to 20 years in prison.
Now that’s justice for you. First you publicly announce to the world - or at least all prospective jurors - that the former Sheriff will admit he is a liar, then you pull the deal and double the charges. Well guess what Sheriff Baca? Welcome to the judicial cattle round up you helped create. Don’t fight City Hall, oh I’m sorry, even worse the government of the United States of America. If you do, they will punish you for it, sort of like the use of a cattle prod on a steer that doesn’t stay in line on his way to the slaughter. The irony here is the tactics being forced upon the former Sheriff are not unlike those he is charged with covering up.
Beating up on uncooperative inmates is as time-honored as street justice itself. Doubling the punishment on a defendant who will no longer plead guilty is business as usual. The only difference is the first is illegal, and the second is the oil that lubricates the criminal justice system. Poor defendants within this system, which constitute the vast majority, have little choice but to take the deal. The consequences of not playing ball with the prosecution by their rules is just too brutal, they hold all the cards in this poker game.
Sheriff Baca is different though, he can afford to match their resources and engage in a creative defense. His wife is actively soliciting contributions for his defense fund. They estimate about a cool million to make it a fair fight. This involves the use of expert witnesses, an opinion for a price. The creative part is the use of a recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis to explain the Sherriff’s “state of mind”, or lack thereof, at the time the crimes are alleged to have occurred. A man with a stellar reputation in the field of law enforcement inexplicably slipped up, now we know why. If nothing else as time goes on, and it will, the defendant’s mental state will continue to slip away and his lack of memory about the allegations against him might well make it impossible for him to get a fair trial. What is the prosecution to do but hire their own “independent” medical expert to examine the patient, and see if she shares the same opinion as her colleague hired by the Defense. What do you bet they disagree, then it will be up to Judge Percy to decide whom to believe.
Let the games begin and may the cause of justice be served, but one can’t help but think Sheriff Baca would rather be in a different arena. If the charges are to be believed its clear that Baca went to the old school of justice. The kind administered on the streets.
Just like Rodney King who when first asked about the beating he received after running from the police, allegedly said, “Well, I ran away didn’t I…” You see, the rules on the street used to be clear, take your chance and if you get away, great. If you get caught, they get to beat you.
Security and cell phone cameras have ruined everything, no more street justice, just new sentence enhancements. Given the choice, I think Sherriff Baca might take the beating, it doesn’t last as long, cost as much, and probably hurts less.