8 probation officers placed on leave after ‘significant incident’ at LA County juvenile hall

The Los Angeles County Probation Department has placed eight probation officers on leave in response to a December incident involving detained juveniles at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.

In a statement Wednesday, Jan. 10, Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa said he took immediate action against the officers on Jan. 4 after the department’s chief safety and security officer notified him of a “significant incident” of alleged misconduct between the officers and the juveniles.

The department, which touted its commitment to “transparency and accountability” in the announcement, declined to provide additional information due to an ongoing investigation.

“I am committed to providing a safe and secure environment that gives the youth committed to our care a clear path to rehabilitation,” Viera Rosa said in a statement. “We are actively identifying and removing those who do not align with our core values and standards to eliminate the negative influences within our organization.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, at Viera Rosa’s request, will handle the investigation instead of Probation’s internal affairs department. The Probation Department, after receiving approval from the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 9, is assessing the feasibility of using outside organizations to conduct its internal affairs investigations in the future.

The discipline comes after a year of turmoil in the county’s juvenile detention system. Last year, state regulators shut down the county’s two juvenile halls over substandard conditions, forcing the department to scramble to renovate and reopen Los Padrinos in Downey to house the displaced juveniles. At the same time, a proliferation of drugs in the halls led to the overdose death of a teenager, medical emergencies for half a dozen other juveniles and a crackdown at security checkpoints.

Los Padrinos, described as a fresh start of the troubled agency, has experienced two violent escape attempts in the six months since it reopened.

Already, Los Padrinos has been deemed out of compliance with the state’s minimum standards and could be forced to shut down as well if the deficiencies are not fixed before an inspection expected to take place next week.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.