LA County spent more than $112 million defending the Sheriff’s Department from lawsuits last fiscal year, more than five times the legal costs of any other county agency.
According to the annual report calculations in the county’s official spending bill released this week, about $229 million went to legal fees and attorneys’ fees from July 1, 2024 to the end of last June. About half of that money was spent on the Sheriff’s Department, which was a series of multimillion-dollar settlements accusing deputies of using excessive force. The department’s legal expenses rose more than $12 million from the previous year, the report found.
Of the eight most expensive areas involving the county, six involve the Sheriff’s Department. This included a $7-million settlement for a shooting in a parking garage that left a man paralyzed, $17.2 million for a car accident involving a deputy driving twice the speed limit, and $25-million. to resolve to a man with autism who was shot in his home.
That charge, the most expensive of the period, stems from a March 2021 911 call that Isaiah Cervantesa deaf and confused man health problem. Her sister asked the dispatcher if deputies could take her to the hospital after she became upset with her mother.
According to a video of the incident released by the department, deputies entered the home where Cervantes was sitting on the couch. After trying to handcuff him, a struggle ensued and one deputy said Cervantes tried to grab his gun. Another deputy shot Cervantes, leaving him permanently disabled.
Isaiahs Cervantes sued the Sheriff’s Department after he was shot and paralyzed in his family’s home.
(Provided by the Cervantes family and lawyers.)
The Sheriff’s Department determined that the deputies involved, David Vega and Jonathan Miramontes, did not violate its use of force policies.
The department referred the investigation into the use of funds to the district attorney, who wrote the report. The district attorney’s office said in a statement that it “takes seriously the responsibility to accurately and transparently report the costs of cases to the State” and is committed to addressing “causes that lead to judgment and resolution.”
Foreign law firms continued to account for the majority of legal spending in the region, according to the report. Of the nearly $229 million in legal spending, about 40% — $89.3 million — went to outside law firms, which the district often contacts to help defend cases. The amount spent on foreign firms has increased slightly over the past four years. In the fiscal year ending June 2022, the district spent about $49 million on outside attorneys and the amount spent has increased every year since then.
The report does not address the nearly $4.5 billion the county has agreed to pay to settle thousands of claims of sexual abuse in foster homes and juvenile halls. That money, which will be paid over five years, is expected to start being distributed to victims this year.
The settlement is the result of AB 218, a law that changed the statute of limitations for arresting victims of child sexual abuse. Since then the region has been plagued with cases of alleged abuse at juvenile facilities run by the prisons department.
According to the report, the Department of Corrections was assigned 1,984 cases last year. Last year, the department received 304 cases.
Keri Blakinger contributed to this report.
