30 officers stage ‘gladiator fights’ between incarcerated youths, California officials say

Thirty detention officers at a Los Angeles-area juvenile hall are accused of staging “gladiator fights” between youths at the facility, California authorities reported.

A grand jury indictment accused the officers at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey of allowing or encouraging 69 fights between youths ages 12 to 18, Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a Monday, March 3, news release.

The fights took place from July to December 2023, Bonta said. A video of a fight leaked in January 2024 prompted the investigation.

“Officers at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall have a duty to ensure the safety and well-being of those under their care. Instead, the officers charged today did just the opposite — overseeing ‘gladiator fights’ when they should have intervened,” Bonta said.

The leaked video shows one youth attacked one-by-one by several others while officers watch without intervening, Bonta told KCRA.

“Some officers are even seen laughing and shaking hands with the young people involved,” Bonta told the station. “Watching the video, the officers look more like referees or audience members at a prize fight, not adults charged with the care and supervision of young people.”

Officers at the facility face charges including child abuse or endangerment, conspiracy to commit a crime and battery involving 143 victims, the release said.

In one case, a youth fought eight one-on-one bouts and suffered a broken nose, the indictment said.

In a statement to KTLA, the Los Angeles County Probation Department, which oversees the juvenile hall, said it supports the investigation and indictments.

“While these incidents are deeply troubling, we believe this marks an important step toward rebuilding trust and reinforcing our commitment to the meaningful changes we are proposing in our juvenile facilities,” the agency said.

The indicted officers have been placed on leave without pay, the department said.

Stacy Ford, president of the L.A. County Deputy Probation Officers Union, AFSCME Local 685, which represents the officers, told KNBC the union “will do everything in our power” to support them.

“Every American is innocent until proven guilty,” Ford said. “Our members are entitled to this same presumption of innocence and deserve to be treated with fairness and due process, just as they provide to those in their custody.”

Attorney Tom Yu, who represents a director at the facility, denied the charges against his client to KABC.

“My client didn’t set up any fights,” Yu said. “He didn’t know about any fights, so I’m not sure how they got him into this as an accomplice.”

The state ordered Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall closed in December 2024 for failing to stop the flow of drugs, failing to take inmates to medical appointments and failing to halt retaliation against inmates who filed grievances, KCBS reported.

But the facility remains open because Los Angeles has no nearby alternatives, the station said.

Downey is about a 15-mile drive southeast from downtown Los Angeles.

This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 9:52 AM with the headline "30 officers stage ‘gladiator fights’ between incarcerated youths, California officials say."