LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A judge has granted in part a request by the union representing many Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies a permanent injunction that bars the county from requiring deputies to show their tattoos to investigators with the Office of Inspector General in some cases.
On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant ruled that the Office of the Inspector General cannot move forward with planned interviews of the affected deputies if they are conducted without a “Lybarger” admonition for both the inquiries as well as for the “compelled display, or production of photographs, of tattoos.”
A Lybarger admonishment, or warning, is a legal requirement in California that compels public employees, especially law enforcement, to answer questions in an administrative investigation. The tool also requires cooperation by threatening termination for silence while granting immunity, ensuring statements cannot be used in criminal prosecutions.
The judge said the Fifth Amendment and “Lybarger” apply to the compelled display or production of photographs of tattoos by the impacted deputies.
“The uncertainty regarding the OIG interviews creates career jeopardy for those affected deputies,” the judge wrote. “The only judicially approved remedy under such circumstances is the administration of Lybarger rights.”
Chalfant had issued a preliminary injunction against the county and in favor of ALADS in July 2023.
The union’s petition, filed in May 2023, maintained it would violate the constitutional rights of deputies if they were required to show their tattoos to those investigating internal cliques within the department. That same month, the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs filed an Unfair Employee Relations Practice Charge with the Los Angeles County Employee Relations Commission.
County attorneys contended that for about 50 years, the LASD “has been plagued by problems resulting from secret societies of deputies with gang-like characteristics, with membership allegedly reaching into its highest ranks.
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