Undersheriff Paul Tanaka was found guilty Wednesday of conspiracy and obstruction of justice for helping thwart a federal investigation of misconduct in Los Angeles county jails.
A federal jury found Tanaka guilty of directing eight alleged co-conspirators in a scheme to foil a 2011 investigation into allegations of excessive force within the jail system. Tanaka will be sentenced on June 20.
“This was Paul Tanaka’s operation,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Fox said in his closing argument, “He was in charge.”
The defence, however, argued that it was actually ex-sheriff Lee Baca who “was in control of this entire situation.”
During two days of testimony, Tanaka, 57, denied remembering details of his communications with his alleged co-conspirators – all of whom have been convicted previously in the case.
Phone logs focusing on days in August and September of 2011 that were relevant to the case revealed about 70 calls between Tanaka and the alleged co-conspirators, but only one between Tanaka and his then-boss, Fox said.
Baca pleaded guilty in February to a charge of lying to investigators and is awaiting sentencing in May.
Tanaka faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
The conviction of former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka for charges of obstruction of justice marks an important moment in the history of violence and brutality that has characterized the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for decades, according to a group called Dignity and Poer Now.org. “The conviction of the second most powerful official who brutally ran the largest jail system in the world is a historical victory not only for those who have been incarcerated in the county jails and for their loved ones, but for everyone who desires an end to state violence. However, Paul Tanaka’s conviction should not turn the page on corruption and misconduct in the Sheriff’s Department – instead it should continue to inform how the current sheriff, the county supervisors, and the yet to be functional Civilian Oversight Commission should pursue justice and transparency in the department.”
“Dignity and Power Now and the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence call on the supervisors to ensure that the commissioners appointed to sit on the commission are representative of the community,” says Mark-Anthony Johnson, director of wellness at Dignity and Power Now, “including those who have been incarcerated and have known long before the Department of Justice the intricacies of sheriff violence and misconduct.”
