![]() “This is the inevitable result of confining too many youth compared to the number of staff the department has available,” Garcia-Leys said. The department has struggled with an unending staffing crisis for more than a year, and though the consolidation at Los Padrinos was meant to help with that, early signs suggest Los Padrinos is facing the same problems that led to the shutdown of Los Angeles County’s other two juvenile halls. ![]() Sean Garcia-Leys, a member of the county Probation Oversight Commission and executive director of the Peace and Justice Law Center, wasn’t surprised by the incident. “I expect our interim Chief Probation Officer to get to the bottom of what went wrong and make assurances to the Board of Supervisors and the City of Downey that this is not going to happen again.” “We need to understand exactly what happened last night at Los Padrinos,” Hahn said. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes Downey, offered her thanks to the “law enforcement officers who responded and got this situation under control quickly.” Viera Rosa is bringing on Michael Minor, a private security consultant and former director of the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation’s Division of Juvenile Justice, to work with staff to stabilize operations at Los Padrinos, according to the department. Officers from the Downey Police Department, Downey Fire Department, South Gate Police Department and deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Lakewood station responded to the juvenile hall Friday night. The oldest youth climbed a wall and escaped onto an adjacent golf course, where he was immediately apprehended, officials said. They allegedly broke the window of a second unit, allowing six others to join them on the facility grounds. Viera Rosa said the incident began around 8 p.m., when seven youths assaulted staff and broke open an exterior door of their living unit. I’m thankful that no youth were seriously hurt, and with the help of other law enforcement agencies, we were able to reestablish order.” “But Friday night’s disturbance was an emergency that required an immediate and strong response. “Any time you move a large number of youths, especially to a new facility as we have in the last week or two, there is a potential for problems and we plan for those,” Viera Rosa said. He has also ordered that OC spray be temporarily issued to all permanent staff until the facility is fully stabilized, a decision he will revisit in a few days. Viera Rosa ordered that beginning immediately, a department bureau chief - among the highest-ranking officers in the department - be present to supervise operations during every shift at Los Padrinos. No serious injuries to youth or staff were reported during the incident, and a subsequent headcount found all 273 youth at the facility present and accounted for, according to the Probation Department, which runs the facility. The remaining 12 youths were placed in individual rooms at Los Padrinos under one-on-one supervision. This will allow us to increase our overall staffing so that we can provide the programming that our youth deserve.” “This new classification will help us reach that level by using trained and experienced peace officers in support of our probation staff. “The safe operations of Los Padrinos ultimately comes down to having the appropriate level of officers and staff on every shift, day in and day out,” Viera Rosa said. Viera Rosa noted he plans to ask the County to speed up hiring of Safety and Security specialists, a new job classification that will allow the Probation Department to hire off-duty or retired peace officers for external security purposes. Those who showed up at the facility were allowed to call their loved ones from the Los Padrinos reception area. Visiting hours were cancelled Saturday and probation staff notified most family and caregivers in advance, he said. Lifting the lockdown will enable limited movement of youth for meals, schooling and recreational activities at the pre-disposition youth facility, Interim Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa said. The lockdown was lifted tonight at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey amidst additional security measures initiated by Los Angeles County probation officials the day after a major disturbance at the facility involving 13 youths. DOWNEY - The lockdown was lifted Saturday night at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey amidst additional security measures initiated by Los Angeles County probation officials the day after a major disturbance at the facility involving 13 youths.
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