Ex-deputy: L.A. County sheriff's deputies beat jail visitor, then lied

LA Times ^ | June 17, 2015 | Joel Rubin

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

Pntamitr Zunggeemoge said he stuck to the script.

After he and other Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies beat a handcuffed man in a jail visitors’ center, he said, they huddled with their sergeant, who came up with a plan. Each of them would claim the man had attacked when one of his hands was uncuffed for fingerprinting.

On Wednesday, Zunggeemoge told a downtown federal jury that he and the other deputies had used excessive force on the jail visitor and then fabricated reports and testimony to justify the beating.

From the outset, it was understood among the deputies that they would keep to the same story, he told jurors.

snip

Zunggeemoge's testimony marked the first public accounting by a deputy of the use of excessive force since federal officials opened a wide-ranging investigation into abuse and corruption inside the county's jail system more than four years ago.

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

“We were all partners,” the former deputy said in the criminal trial of three of his former Sheriff’s Department colleagues. “There’s a bond. And you don’t go against your partners.”

There you have it.

[SaveFerris]

[Zunggeemoge]

Now that’s a name for an NFL place-kicker if there ever was.

Just don’t know if it will fit on a jersey.

[SaveFerris]

In all seriousness, I’m glad somebody told the truth.

Probably a plea deal.

[ladyjane]

I hope he doesn’t take a job delivering newspapers out there.

[dragnet2]

Of course he admitted this to save his own butt and cut the back door deal. First to sequel gets the deal.

Pntamitr Zunggeemoge? Government in CA does not hire many John Smith types today. They will eventually stomp out all that white privilege.

[Slings and Arrows]

Ping!

[Secret Agent Man]

Everyone who has cops in the family are aware of this.

I was because I have had cops in the family, a long time. Decades.

Backing each other up, being pals, having each others back is one thing. Lying about illegal sh1t you’ve done while wearing the badge, is totally another.

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

Related: Sheriff's officials probe exchange of photos of bloodied faces

Ater a violent confrontation with a teenage suspect, a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy took a photo of the man's bloodied face and texted it to Sgt. Eric Gonzalez, a friend who worked at Men's Central Jail.

A few hours later, Gonzalez responded by sending his own photo of a battered suspect: a jail visitor who had been kicked, punched and pepper-sprayed by deputies.

The man in Gonzalez's photo had two black eyes, one swollen shut, and blood streaming down his face.

Looks like we did a better job," Gonzalez wrote his colleague. "Where's my beer big homie."

"Hahaha," the deputy responded, according to a text message exchange reviewed by The Times.

Sheriff's officials are now investigating whether Gonzalez violated the department's rules by bragging about the man's injuries. The altercation between the jail visitor and deputies supervised by Gonzalez has also drawn scrutiny from the FBI, which began investigating the incident last year as part of its wide-ranging probe of the county's troubled jails.

[momtothree]

“... whether Gonzalez violated the department’s rules by bragging about the man’s injuries...”

That should be the least of their concerns IMHO.

[arthurus]

Pntamitr -Isn’t that an Iambic name?

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

I was because I have had cops in the family, a long time. Decades.

So do I. Of six siblings, 4 are or were cops. I love my brothers and sisters, but all four had academic and behavioral trouble in HS. They, and their friends that I have met, are in the job because they can pretty much do anything they want...and they get away with it.

Of course, the >$100K salary, generous benefits and retirement that pays them more when they retire than they make now doesn't hurt.

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

Pntamitr Zunggeemoge?

Interestingly...there is no other hit on Google for that name.

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

Correct Spelling: Pantamitr Zunggeemoge

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

It helps if I cut-and-paste correctly.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Hey! “Zunggeemoge” is my middle name!

[cherry]

I love it when people say cops and firemen and teachers are poorly paid....the facts speak otherwise...

[Kickass Conservative]

Lie first, Beat later. Words to live by.

[TangoLimaSierra]

Pntamitr -Isn’t that an Iambic name?

A native of Sonnetland.

[Slings and Arrows]

Seriesly, does anyone have any idea what nationality that name is? If I was pressed I would guess Thai, but a guess is all it would be.

[pluvmantelo]

I think he’s the guy that bedeviled Superman. If so, he hails from the 5th dimension.