30 Officers Charged With Allowing ‘Gladiator Fights’ at Youth Detention Center

U.S.|30 Officers Charged With Allowing ‘Gladiator Fights’ at Youth Detention Center

Thirty officers who worked at a youth detention center in Los Angeles County have been charged with allowing — and in some cases, encouraging — gladiator-style fights among the teenagers being held there, California’s attorney general said on Monday.

A grand jury indictment charged the detention services officers at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, Calif., with child endangerment and abuse, conspiracy and battery, the attorney general, Rob Bonta, said.

Mr. Bonta said the 69 fights took place at Los Padrinos from July 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023. The indictment, he said, stemmed from an investigation opened by the California Department of Justice after video footage of one of the “gladiator fights” leaked in January 2024.

The footage — published by the The Los Angeles Times last April — shows several officers standing by and at least one appearing to encourage young people as they take turns beating a teenager inside a room at Los Padrinos that was decorated with colored streamers and other Christmas décor.

One of the officers appears to smile at points as she presides over the fights and another shakes hands with one of the teens moments after he knocks down the teenager who was being attacked and kicks him on the floor.

“Watching the video, the officers look more like referees or audience members at a prizefight, not adults charged with the care and supervision of young people,” Mr. Bonta said at a news conference on Monday. “The officers don’t step in, don’t intervene and don’t protect their charges.”