Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva accused high-ranking members of his department Tuesday of attempting to cover up an incident in which a deputy kneeled on the head of a handcuffed inmate for more than three minutes.
Villanueva made the allegations at a hastily called news conference he held to discuss a Times report that revealed the violent detention, which happened about a year ago, and detailed efforts by department officials to keep it under wraps.
The sheriff denied an allegation made by a top-ranking department official who is seeking to unseat him that he had been involved in the cover-up. Villanueva also indicated that he had shaken up his "senior command," but refused to provide specifics about whose jobs had changed and why.
