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White deputy alleges harassment, discrimination by purported LASD gangs

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A white sheriff’s deputy who says he gave up hopes of a baseball career to join law enforcement is suing Los Angeles County, alleging he was harassed by members of two purported deputy gangs and that he was targeted because of his race.

Deputy Robert Francis Coyle’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges racial discrimination, harassment, retaliation, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He’s seeking unspecified damages in the suit.

An LASD representative issued a statement on the suit, which also names Deputies Braulio Robledo and Bradley Liberator as defendants.

“We have not seen the lawsuit and due to pending litigation, we are unable to comment directly,” the statement read.

Coyle once aspired to play for the Dodgers, but decided instead to pursue his other dream of serving in law enforcement, according to his court papers, which say he “was excited to go to work for the LASD and took pride in keeping residents safe as a deputy.” Coyle says he was initially assigned to work at the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station, but his father had heart and kidney transplants and the plaintiff asked to be transferred closer to his father’s home.

“Unfortunately, plaintiff was transferred to the East Los Angeles Station, an epicenter of deputy gangbanging,” the suit alleges.

Coyle alleges that soon after he arrived at the East Los Angeles Station, some employees, including Robledo, began targeting him for discrimination and harassment based on his race. Robledo, then an alleged Banditos gang prospect, and other station deputies thought that Coyle must have been an FBI agent because he was white, according to the suit.

“Plaintiff did not know what he was walking into, but the dominance of the station by Banditos gang culture was palpable,” his court papers allege.

Coyle says he at first tried to ignore the harassment and hoped that after the deputies at the station saw the strong work ethic he displayed, he would be respected and be left alone. But Latino deputies were “suspicious over him being white and suspicious over him being focused on being a good cop,” according to his court papers. Coyle alleges he was “deeply troubled” by what he believed was a culture at the East Los Angeles Station that encouraged conduct by deputies that violate laws and policies, so he complained to his supervisor.

“The defendants retaliated against plaintiff for speaking up and called him a rat,” the suit says.

Soon thereafter, Robledo hinted to Coyle that the Banditos would start withholding backup help on his calls, the plaintiff alleges. That threat became a reality in November 2019 when the Banditos purposely denied Coyle assistance as he pursued an armed suspect who turned to shoot at him, the suit alleges. Coyle fired multiple shots at the suspect, who escaped, according to his court papers.

The Banditos also retaliated against Coyle by overwhelming him with excessive calls, in the process causing other deputies to be unsafe, the suit alleges. Coyle ultimately was granted a transfer from the East Los Angeles Station, but his problems with the Banditos did not end, the suit says.

“After the plaintiff left the East Los Angeles Station, the Banditos spread false rumors about him to destroy his professional reputation,” the suit alleges. ” One of the lies spread by the Banditos was that Deputy Coyle had to be transferred out because he faked his own shooting.”

Not long after leaving the East Los Angeles Station, Coyle was driving his civilian car in Compton when he was stopped without justification by Deputy Bradley Liberator, an alleged member of the Regulators deputy gang, the suit states.

“Liberator did not ticket Deputy Coyle and later lied about why he stopped the plaintiff,” the complaint alleges. “Liberator’s harassment of plaintiff made it clear that plaintiff is not safe anywhere in LASD and he needs to get out.”

Coyle is looking for work outside of the county and the LASD because he can no longer tolerate the hostile work environment and stress, the suit states.

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31 comments for "White deputy alleges harassment, discrimination by purported LASD gangs"

  2. I see absolutely no reason for any gang culture in the department. The us against them mentality would definitely cause disharmony in the department. Are these gangs secret or out in the open? Gangs should not be infesting the honorable culture of the department
    Nip it in the bud.

    • Too late to nip it in the bud…the gang culture has already infested the “honorable culture” all the way to the top. Baca and Tanaka were part of a “gang” although since they were white and in charge they’d call it a “fraternity.” The only thing making this into a big public outcry is that it isn’t a white person gang.

      • Tanaka is clearly Asian and Baca is Hispanic…his parents were immigrants from Mexico. Not agreeing with their culture, but get your facts straight if you’re trying to push the white cop gang narrative.

  3. No matter what the cercomstances were , when a deputy needs assistance (regardless of race) there swarn in to protect n serve …sounds like other pack of wolf’s left him as meet in the streets …that’s a cold shot group of deputies not serving fellow coworkers or watching their back. People are blind . If he was living why would he go all this way to prove the misconduct …he knows his rights and their wrongs gangs in deputy’s that alone calls to be investigated and it’s ashame if it’s proof that’s gang group aas deputy’s …I would psrrip them from all their duties. U can’t serve n protect if ur gang member . What’s the matter with ur heads people it’s on a selective mode if ur not one of them ur life don’t matter n ur not a priority to them. That’s not a brotherhood and that’s that think before u react negatively . He is a hero for being real honest n standing up I’m sure he is not the first to have this take place .

  4. I recovered a badge 104-106 the American people are not just supposed to be able to get their hands on stuff like badges an automatic weapons.

    State seal eureka a director badge.

    Yes I contacted the Federal Bureau of investigations.

    My military dog tags.

  5. I recovered a badge 104-106 the American people are not just supposed to be able to get their hands on stuff like badges an automatic weapons.

    Yes I contacted the Federal Bureau of investigations.

    My military dog tags.

  6. I know for a fact these cops are crooked! It’s sad that we have such corruption in our great country.

  7. Villanueva is a Bandito, right? No wonder people feel comfortable posting comments about the plaintiff.

    Reboot the PD.

  8. All gang activity can not be tolerated. This is what happens when you let police officers be social workers, part of the community. My T/O taught me your a garbage man with a gun. Keep the streets clean and safe. Next they will be taking bribes and running a protection racket

  9. This is serious, police are not to be gangbangers they are to pillars of the communities they work in. The department needs to root these people out and fire them and pull their accreditation immediately

  11. And just like any other gang member, when they are alone they are chicken [removed]… And just like many cops, they gave up on goals in life to pursue being an authoritive figure. They’re getting respect one way or another by golly.

  12. He is legitimately mentally ill. Anyone who has worked with him knows this. He’s mentally unstable and compulsively lies to create a cool persona, he did it in the academy several times. He did too many steroids during baseball and is off in the head now because of it, seriously….it’s the departments fault for hiring this guy. He should have been screened out during the psych and background investigation. That’s on them. They should speak to people for longer than an hour to figure out their body language, mannerisms, tone of voice, and elated conceited conversations.

    • David
      This all may well be regarding his mental situation. I’m more concerned about the sheriffs gangs. What do you know about them?

      • It’s not what the media says and claims. Just like most of what the media says, it’s being twisted and contorted to get people upset.

    • Spoken like a true bandidos this is what you gangsters do to good men who refuse to be part of your gang. I can’t to see all you gangsters Sent to prison where you belong

      • If you knew anything about the East LA “gang” you’d know it’s less than 100 people. The dept has 10,000 sworn. Figure out the math and stop being moronic. You all preach don’t stereotype and don’t lump all of one group together, yet you’re doing it every chance you get. Get a grip. Coyle is a joke, not matter what station or jail he goes to. He doesn’t get along with people. He’s extremely strange, doesn’t back his partners, and lies 24/7. It’s stupid he’s claiming discrimination. I didn’t know you could claim discrimination for being an ignorant cocky douche. I guess several others should sue as well. It’s not a race discrimination. It’s just him not getting along with others. Like this person said at the top, he has mental issues. He’s off even holding a conversation with the guy.

        • Talk about math problems… your “math” is ridiculously misleading! Do you work for that fake Faux network??? The gang problem at the ELA station is “less than 100” members, you say. Well, that is a hell of a lot for one station! The 10,000 total sworn LASD number you cite is apples and oranges to the specifics of the complaint about the banditos deputy gang problem at ELA station. And also, this has been an ongoing, well documented issue for LASD for years and years, so if you are attempting to dismiss this legitimate gang problem by asserting it is just this one deputy with what you call “mental issues”, you are clearly trying to sweep the real problem under the rug with your moronic falsehoods. This deputy made it through the rigorous hiring process, successfully graduated from the sheriff’s academy, passed patrol training and had worked previously at another patrol station before transferring to ELA, where he started encountering the deputy gang culture who thought he was an FBI plant. I’d be much more apt to believe him knowing what I do about the despicable, very real banditos gang culture that has infested LASD through numerous sheriff’s administrations. I hate to say this about my previous highly held respect for LASD when I was a member of it decades ago, but it appears much past time for the FBI and the DOJ to step in and hopefully, finally, rid this law enforcement agency of it’s deeply ingrained gang culture once and for all.

      • Not even legal if it’s a gang it’s self needs to be investigated n he will need protection for rest of his life good luck on that .

        • Protect n serve isn’t what brotherhood is today . I’d say if ur not part of their gang it’s mind over matter THEY DONT MIND …YOU DONT MATTER.

        • Rod:

          Classic line of sarcasm from Casablanca by Claude Rains. Doesn’t anyone have any culture anymore?