Eighteen current and former Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies have been charged for the alleged abuse of prisoners and other offenses in county jails. Federal prosecutor André Birotte unveiled the indictments.

André Birotte: “The federal investigation found that these incidents did not take place in a vacuum. In fact, the examples of illegal conduct alleged in these indictments demonstrated that certain of the individuals and certain of that behavior had become institutionalized. Some members of the sheriff’s department considered themselves to be above the law.”

At least 16 officers, some high-ranking, were arrested in Monday’s sweep. The charges follow a multi-year investigation into the systemic abuse of prisoners in Los Angeles County jails.