Los Angeles County Sheriff S Department

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies shot and killed three armed suspects in separate incidents over the weekend, bringing the total number of fatal deputy-involved shootings so far this year to 13. A deputy was injured during a gun battle in one of the three shootings, and suspects' firearms were recovered after each incident, said Steve Whitmore, a department spokesman. There were five fatal shootings by sheriff's deputies in 2008, Whitmore said. The recent spate of shootings comes less than a week after Sheriff Lee Baca called for an expedited investigation into a deputy's fatal shooting of an unarmed man in Athens on Sept.

The family of an unarmed man fatally shot last month by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy filed a legal claim against the county Wednesday, alleging that sheriff's deputies are poorly trained and routinely use deadly force on people who don't pose any threat. On Sept. 14, a deputy chased Darrick Collins up his driveway in Athens and into his own backyard, believing he was a robbery suspect. The deputy saw Collins reach for his waistband, causing him to fear that Collins was going for a weapon, sheriff's officials said.

As the Antelope Valley grapples with a rash of race-related attacks, the Sheriff's Department says union seniority requirements make it difficult to assign more minority deputies to the troubled area. The department's problem exemplifies obstacles encountered in implementing recommendations by the county Human Relations Commission more than a year ago to lower racial tensions in the High Desert suburbs, a region of dramatic demographic shifts.

Meet Ron Gillespie and Bill Elmblad, a pair of armed, uniformed Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies who may be the best in the nation at what they do. They haven't patrolled a street, investigated a crime, arrested a suspect or pulled a gun in years. They are professional scavengers, and they have earned both their bosses' praise and critics' scorn because of their multimillion-dollar hauls.

As the Antelope Valley grapples with a rash of race-related attacks, the Sheriff's Department says union seniority requirements make it difficult to assign more minority deputies to the troubled area. The department's problem exemplifies obstacles encountered in implementing recommendations made by the county Human Relations Committee more than a year ago to lower racial tensions in the high desert suburbs, a region of dramatic demographic shifts.

A murder suspect was mistakenly released from the Men's Central Jail--and then recaptured a day later in Fontana--in the latest embarrassing gaffe for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Pedro Quezada, 21, was released from jail Tuesday afternoon and captured at a home 50 miles away, sheriff's officials said. It was at least the 15th time this year that an inmate had been accidentally released by the Sheriff's Department, which maintains the county's overcrowded jail system.

Once upon a time, when another of the endless racial brawls that afflict the Pitchess Detention Center would break out, sheriff's deputies armed only with batons, protective gear and nerve would wade into the prisoners and restore peace the hard way. But since 1986, deputies say, an innovative device that fits in the palm of the hand has made their job much less hazardous and often saved inmates from serious injuries--the "stingball" grenade.

A 21-year-old murder suspect who was mistakenly released from the Men's Central Jail turned himself in to the Sheriff's Department rather than being captured, law enforcement officials said Thursday. Pedro Quezada, 21, a suspect in a 1991 killing in Los Angeles, was inadvertently set free early Wednesday because of an error by a clerk, sheriff's officials said. Quezada's sister, Dianna, 30, said her brother was not aware that his release was a mistake.

Sheriff Sherman Block on Wednesday blamed the recent erroneous release of a convicted murderer on a clerical error by the county Probation Department, but added that the mistake exposed "a defect in the total system" of keeping track of inmates.

A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy accused of harassing minorities on his beat has pleaded no contest to felony charges of falsifying police reports. Prosecutors have agreed to drop one firearms count that could have landed the veteran officer in state prison. Instead, Jeffrey L. Jones faces no more than a year in County Jail under the plea agreement.