37 Plaintiffs Added to Suit Against Deputies

Civil rights attorneys have added 37 plaintiffs to a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of 81 others last fall that accuses Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies of engaging in a wave of wanton shootings, beatings and excessive force in the Lynwood area.

The latest suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court, accuses deputies of “systematic acts of shooting, killing, brutality, torture, terrorism, house-trashing . . . and other acts of lawlessness” against the plaintiffs “on account of their race, color, national origin, age or economic status.”

Department spokesmen said Sheriff Sherman Block--who was named a defendant along with 13 subordinates and 250 John Does--had no immediate response to the new suit. Last September, after the original suit, containing similar allegations, was filed, the sheriff called the accusations ludicrous and said they were an attempt by gang members to discredit the department.