LOS ANGELES — A cadre of civil rights advocates rallied outside a downtown courthouse Thursday to demand accountability within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which is embroiled in a lawsuit over recent oversight efforts to identify members of deputy gangs.
On one side: the deputies' union, which filed the suit in May, arguing that it would be unconstitutional to force deputies to show their tattoos to oversight officials investigating gangs operating within the department.
On the other side: the county, the sheriff and the Office of Inspector General, with support from the American Civil Liberties Union and the array of advocates who showed up before Thursday's hearing.
