Two more of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s “finest” have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in the savage beating of a restrained county jail inmate. Joey Aguiar and Mariano Ramirez were convicted this past February of writing false reports regarding their use of force in restraining Bret Phillips. Thanks to federal intervention, the two are the latest officers to be convicted of walking on the other side of the law. Daily Kos has covered some of these convictions here and here.

“Aguiar and Ramirez acknowledged in internal department reports they wrote at the time that they used physical force to restrain an inmate, Bret Phillips, delivering repeated punches, striking him with a flashlight and pepper-spraying him in the face.”

“The force was necessary to subdue Phillips, the deputies said. They wrote in their reports that Phillips, who suffers from schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, had attempted to head-butt Aguiar and continued to struggle after being pinned on the ground.”

“At the deputies’ trial in February, prosecutors argued that the men had fabricated their account and Phillips had done nothing to justify the force. The prosecutors offered a different version of the beating based on testimony from Phillips and two witnesses, claiming the deputies grew angry and targeted Phillips after the inmate acted out in frustration at being left handcuffed in his cell for a prolonged period.”

“Phillips could not have posed any serious threat to the deputies because his hands were shackled to a chain around his waist throughout the beating, prosecutors told jurors.”