Los Angeles, Ca
Crude details emerge in racism, sexism scandal rocking L.A. Police Department
Crude details, including secret recordings, are emerging in a case of alleged racism and sexism by several male and female officers working in The Los Angeles Police Department’s Recruiting Employment Division.
In mid-February, news of the scandal broke after the Los Angeles Times learned of a written complaint outlining the accusations, which was filed anonymously on Jan. 5.
At the time, LAPD said four officers, including a lieutenant and a sergeant, had been assigned home with their police powers stripped amid the investigation. That number has reportedly increased by two additional officers.
The Times has since reviewed a copy of the complaint that details around 90 recordings between March and October in the department’s recruiting division where officers and supervisors reportedly hurled discriminatory remarks about colleagues and possible recruits based on race, sex and sexual orientation.
Some of the crude remarks include a Latina officer saying, “You hit Black people in the liver; I heard they got weak livers,” and referring to a Latina janitor as a “wetback.” A Latino officer reportedly said, “Black people enjoy watermelon in between basketball.”
An Asian sergeant is said to have criticized a civilian female supervisor to his subordinates for “looking like a man,” The Times reported, and then made jokes about the genitalia of Asian women.
Five of the six officers reportedly caught up in the scandal include Sgt. Denny Jong, who is Asian, Lt. Louis Lavender, who is Black, an officer identified only as McKay, Ofc. Shirley Burgos, a Latina and Ofc. Christian Flores, a Latino, according to The Times’ reporting.
The complaint alleges that Lavender, who oversaw the section, overheard and witnessed many of the conversations, though did nothing to stop them.
“Man, we’re going to end up in the L.A. Times the way you all talk in here,” he’s allegedly recorded saying. “You all can bring down the whole department.”
Jong, who reportedly ran the office day-to-day and is characterized in the complaint as leading the crude and prejudicial language, is also accused of allowing his officers to review the names of potential background investigators for the unit and then letting the officers veto them when they came up for hiring.
The allegations and investigation come at a time when LAPD is struggling to fill its ranks ahead of the Olympics and the World Cup.
Newly installed L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell has made it clear that the department faces staffing issues, saying that at the time of his appointment, there were 1,200 fewer officers than when he was last on the force 15 years ago, The Times reported.
While department officials have said the investigation into the matter is a top priority, the complaining officer, a Latino himself and a 10-year veteran of the department, is also likely to face an investigation into whether the recordings were made illegally.
His attorney, Greg Smith, told The Times, that officers should expect privacy from these types of recordings while in uniform and in a public building “ridiculing the very people they took an oath to serve.”
Smith added that his client, who has not been publicly identified, handed the recordings over to LAPD’s Inspector General.
As for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who was briefed on the complaint when it was filed in January, she referred to the allegations in a statement as “especially outrageous and unacceptable.”
“Growing LAPD’s ranks is a top priority of this Administration, and for our city’s safety,” she said.
The mayor added that she and Chief McDonnell are working together to “fix the recruiting and hiring process and make sure that officers stuck in the past don’t tarnish the badge for everyone else.”
A hospital needs help identifying a male patient who was found injured and unconscious in downtown Los Angeles.
The man is believed to be in his 30s, according to the Los Angeles General Medical Center.
He was found injured on the ground on Omar Street and has been hospitalized since June 22.
He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 176 pounds. He has brown eyes, dark brown hair and tattoos across his upper body.
He did not have any personal belongings to help staff identify him or contact loved ones. Workers did not disclose the nature of his injuries.
Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call clinical social worker Cesar Robles at 323-409-6885.
The public can also call the L.A. General Medical Center’s Department of Social Work at 323-409-5253 or, after hours from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., call 323-409-6883. On weekends, call 323-409-5254.
Police are asking the public for help Wednesday in identifying a hit-and-run driver who left a woman badly injured in Long Beach late last month. The May 24 crash occurred around 11 p.m. as the victim was crossing East 2nd Street, according to the Long Beach Police Department. Video provided by police showed a dark-colored […]
WARNING: Video footage contains graphic violence
A 62-year-old street vendor is recovering after a brutally violent attack by another woman in broad daylight as bystanders in downtown Los Angeles looked on.
The attack happened around 4 p.m. on June 15 in the 700 block of Figueroa Street, where Arabelia Martinez has sold hot dogs for years to support herself and her family.
Video of the incident, which has since circulated widely online, appears to show a woman confronting Martinez at her stand before spraying sauce across the vendor’s cart. Martinez responds by throwing what appears to be Tajín seasoning in the woman’s direction, and the confrontation quickly escalates.
The difficult-to-watch footage shows Martinez being shoved to the ground and struck multiple times as people look on. Some can be seen attempting to intervene, but the assault continues for roughly a minute before coming to an end.
“I was speechless,” Martinez’s son, Constantino Garcia, said after watching the video. “I couldn’t even see the whole thing.”
According to Garcia, the suspect approached his mother before the attack and attempted to intimidate her into giving her money.
“The lady came up to my mom trying to intimidate her and extort her for money, telling her she needed a permit to sell, which my mom does have,” Garcia told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo.
When Martinez refused, Garcia claims the woman became verbally abusive.
“After she didn’t get her way and tried to extort my mom, she said, ‘Go back to Mexico,’ and made some racist remarks,” he said. “She said some disgusting things to my mom.”
Garcia said his mother continues to suffer lingering effects from the attack.
“She keeps complaining about her head,” he said. “We need to go see a head specialist because her head doesn’t stop hurting. As you could see in the video, she got slammed to the ground.”
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A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia)
The video has also sparked outrage over the response from some witnesses who were nearby during the assault.
“What’s going on with our society?” Garcia said. “Are we getting desensitized to an elderly woman being beaten in broad daylight and being surrounded by people doing the bare minimum to help her? That was horrible for me to watch.”
Witness Sebastian Gutierrez said he arrived moments after the confrontation and saw Garcia’s attacker causing additional chaos in the area.
“The lady began to flip over the tables of vendors,” Gutierrez said, describing the woman as possibly unstable. “It definitely seemed like there were mental health issues or drugs involved, like we see with a lot of things here in downtown L.A.,” he said.
The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a battery investigation into the incident KTLA confirmed, though no suspect information or news of a potential arrest has been released.
Meanwhile, Martinez’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with her recovery and raise awareness about the dangers street vendors face daily.
“I hope that my mom gets justice for what happened to her,” Garcia said. He added that he’s been encouraged by the public response to the video.
“I’m grateful people are sympathizing with my mom,” he said. “People are giving it the attention it deserves.”
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