Judge Throws Out Deputy’s Retaliation Suit Against Los Angeles County

Sheriff Alex Villanueva of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department speaks about a task force targeting wage theft outside of the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles, on Feb. 9, 2021. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

LOS ANGELES—A judge dismissed on Nov. 5 a lawsuit originally filed by a deputy in September 2020 alleging the Compton Sheriff’s Station’s life-threatening retaliation against him when he reported the criminal activities of a deputy subgroup known as the Executioners.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William F. Fahey had previously tossed Austreberto “Art” Gonzalez’s lawsuit on Feb. 9, on grounds of procedural and legal deficiencies in Gonzalez’s complaint filing.