The Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission on Thursday urged Sheriff Robert Luna to ban the Fort Apache logo, a symbol of a riot helmet atop a boot that has been used by the department’s East L.A. station.
The logo, as LAist has reported, was born out of violent clashes between East L.A. deputies and anti-Vietnam War protesters during the 1970 Chicano Moratorium.
Eastside residents have railed it as racist and culturally offensive.
At its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, the oversight commission unanimously voted on a motion that calls on Luna to adopt a policy banning offensive and inappropriate station logos, specifically the Fort Apache logo.
Luna was at the meeting to give an update on the oversight commission’s recommendations to eliminate deputy gangs and cliques, but he left before the vote on Fort Apache.
This action comes nearly a month after the commission hosted a town hall to hear concerns about the department’s response to last year’s playoffs and World Series celebrations in East L.A.
Residents made claims that L.A. Sheriff’s deputies used tear gas and incendiary devices during the celebrations, with members of the social justice group Centro CSO adding that deputies were also seen wearing pins with the Fort Apache logo.
At the town hall, Carlos Montes, a Centro CSO member and leader in the 1968 Chicano Student Blowouts, said the logo has been interpreted by many in the community “as the Sheriff’s department seeing themselves as an occupying force.”
“We see it as a symbol of oppression,” Montes said. One town hall attendee likened the logo to a swastika.
In 2016, former L.A. Sheriff Jim McDonnell banned the Fort Apache logo — used by the department’s East L.A. station — because he felt it was disrespectful to the community.
Three years later, it was reinstated by former L.A. Sheriff Alex Villanueva and was once again displayed at the station, according to LAist.
On Thursday, Robert C. Bonner, who chairs the oversight committee, said the town hall made it clear how “deeply rooted and offensive the Fort Apache logo is to the East Los Angeles community.”
“It’s visceral,” Bonner said.
“This sheriff needs to immediately take action to ban that logo,” Bonner added.