Today in profoundly maddening police news, we bring you to the bizarre Southern California tradition surrounding the ominously named Leadership Empowerment and Discipline (LEAD) Boot Camp at Camp San Luis Obispo. The camp, purportedly aimed at rehabilitating at-risk youth, is now embroiled in a troubling legal battle centered on the abusive practices of participating police officers and other law enforcement officials.
In a recent press release, the San Louis Obispo County Sheriff's Office confirmed the arrest and subsequent charging of four LEAD drill instructors:
The one week camp was held May 17-24 at Camp San Luis Obispo, a California Army National Guard Military Base in San Luis Obispo. All participants in the camp are from Southern California and did not involve any children from the local area. Because the camp is in the Sheriff's jurisdiction, we immediately began an investigation after receiving a report of the allegations from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services on 5-28-15. After a two month investigation which involved interviewing 37 participants at the camp, Sheriff's Detectives were able to identify 15 male and female victims ranging in age from 12 to 17 years old who claimed they were assaulted by the drill instructors while at the camp. After an exhaustive and thorough investigation, Sheriff's Detectives served search and arrest warrants on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week for two members of the Huntington Park Police Department and two members of the South Gate Police Department.
According to KTLA reporters, the details surrounding this widespread abuse are gruesome. "These officers would pull these kids into ‘the dark room,'" says attorney Gregory Owen, "and, in the dark room, they would take these children by the neck, push them up against the wall, then they would strike them. They would beat them in the side, in the stomach, in the ribs, and in the face.” The children were reportedly given towels after each beating to remove blood from their skin and clothes before returning to public campgrounds.
Detective Marissa Larios and officer Patrick Nijland of the Huntington Park Police Department were arrested and charged alongside South Gate Police Department officers Carlos Gomez-Marquez and Edgar Gomez, with all four suspects quickly released after posting their respective $20,000 bail. The charges range from suspicion of willful cruelty to a child to battery and abuse under color of authority.
