L.A. County Sheriff to Discontinue Discipline Guidelines Adopted After Scandal

Newly elected Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has decided to drop discipline guidelines adopted in 2013 to stop jailhouse beatings by deputies and in 2016 to deter lying, according to LAist.com .

Some of the rules being eliminated or weakened are related to making false statements or reports, falsification of inmate safety checks, or "violating the department's core values."

The more stringent standards were put in place just months before then-Sheriff Lee Baca resigned after it became known that there were jailhouse beatings and cover-ups by deputies.

The move back to the 2012 guidelines also eliminates certain criteria for determining discipline. So for the time being, the department will no longer take into consideration off-duty conduct that affects the department's "reputation" or actions that may cause "harm to public trust," according to reports.