Community coalition grounded in families surviving @LASDHQ violence and holding the sheriff accountable. #CheckTheSheriff #googleLASDgangs
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ALT Meme of cop smiling and waving saying “don’t worry! I investigated myself and found I did nothing wrong”
ALT poster for podcast that include a pic of Cerise Castle, the PCP logo and the date, who hosted, edited and mixed the podcast. Light green background
ALT In June of 2021, the sheriff’s department began creating dossiers on people loosely affiliated with me and my reporting. Ricci Sergienko, a member of the leftist political organizing group People’s City Council, widely shared ‘A Tradition of Violence’ online, and referenced the reporting frequently while interacting with sheriff’s deputies in the course of his organizing work. Katrina B. O’Donnell, a crime analyst in the Records and Identification Bureau, sent a 29 page dossier on Sergienko to several high ranking members of the sheriff’s department, including then lieutenant, now captain Geoffrey R. Deedrick of the Community Partnerships Bureau. At the time, Deedrick oversaw the LASD’s Homeless Outreach Services Team, which was instrumental in former sheriff Alex Villanueva’s push into LAPD’s jurisdiction in order to remove unhoused people from the Venice Beach boardwalk.
ALT Shortly after the dossier with his information circulated within LASD, Sergienko began receiving threats. The evening that the email with his information was sent, he received a text message containing his sibling’s name and the street they live on. The following day, he said saw a sheriff’s department patrol vehicle outside of his home. Sergienko lives within LAPD jurisdiction, and it is unusual for LASD vehicles to be in the area.
ALT ODonnell, Katrina B. <[email protected]› Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2021 6:45:33 AM To: Matson, Ginger T. <[email protected]›; Gentner, Christopher S. <[email protected]> Cc: Deedrick, Geoffrey R. <[email protected]›; Kitchin II, William J. <[email protected]› Subject: Attached please find the workup and supporting documentation regarding SERGIENKO, RICCI. Sergienko's current home address is in LAPD-WLA. As such, I am unable to run CFS related to this address. I have attached the address report for his apartment to his binder, but have not run potential cohabitants at this time. **For situational awareness - Sergienko lives approximately 9 miles from Venice Beach. Sergienko claims he was arrested by LAPD on 5/30/2020 during a protest. While there is video of his detention online, I can find no arrest of Sergienko in Los Angeles County. Sergienko does not appear to have a criminal history; he has 2 identified citations (2015, 2016.)
ALT had suspected that the sheriff’s department had been watching me before I received the emails confirming it. Since reporting on the deputy gangs, I have noticed different department members consistently watching my Instagram story, including LASD’s official account. I’ve seen patrol vehicles parked outside of my apartment, despite the fact that I live in the city of Los Angeles, which is outside of the sheriff’s department’s jurisdiction. Instances like these have led to my making major adjustments to the way I live my life. I don’t identify my friends and loved ones publicly. I avoid publicly announcing where I will be at any given time. When I meet new people, I caution them that getting close to me may mean that they will be watched, too.
ALT I’ve made these adjustments without thinking too deeply about it, in an almost robotic like way. It was only when I drew near completing this reporting that I began to realize that all of this might have been traumatic. It took me nearly a year to write this story, which is the slowest I have ever worked on a reported piece. It took a conversation with a relative to make me consider that learning this information may have had an impact on my mental health. I’m disturbed by what I have learned in these documents, and fear for what it means for other reporters who want to do accountability reporting on policing agencies.
ALT In June of 2021, the sheriff’s department began creating dossiers on people loosely affiliated with me and my reporting. Ricci Sergienko, a member of the leftist political organizing group People’s City Council, widely shared ‘A Tradition of Violence’ online, and referenced the reporting frequently while interacting with sheriff’s deputies in the course of his organizing work. Katrina B. O’Donnell, a crime analyst in the Records and Identification Bureau, sent a 29 page dossier on Sergienko to several high ranking members of the sheriff’s department, including then lieutenant, now captain Geoffrey R. Deedrick of the Community Partnerships Bureau. At the time, Deedrick oversaw the LASD’s Homeless Outreach Services Team, which was instrumental in former sheriff Alex Villanueva’s push into LAPD’s jurisdiction in order to remove unhoused people from the Venice Beach boardwalk.
ALT Shortly after the dossier with his information circulated within LASD, Sergienko began receiving threats. The evening that the email with his information was sent, he received a text message containing his sibling’s name and the street they live on. The following day, he said saw a sheriff’s department patrol vehicle outside of his home. Sergienko lives within LAPD jurisdiction, and it is unusual for LASD vehicles to be in the area.
ALT ODonnell, Katrina B. <[email protected]› Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2021 6:45:33 AM To: Matson, Ginger T. <[email protected]›; Gentner, Christopher S. <[email protected]> Cc: Deedrick, Geoffrey R. <[email protected]›; Kitchin II, William J. <[email protected]› Subject: Attached please find the workup and supporting documentation regarding SERGIENKO, RICCI. Sergienko's current home address is in LAPD-WLA. As such, I am unable to run CFS related to this address. I have attached the address report for his apartment to his binder, but have not run potential cohabitants at this time. **For situational awareness - Sergienko lives approximately 9 miles from Venice Beach. Sergienko claims he was arrested by LAPD on 5/30/2020 during a protest. While there is video of his detention online, I can find no arrest of Sergienko in Los Angeles County. Sergienko does not appear to have a criminal history; he has 2 identified citations (2015, 2016.)
