RACE RIOT SOLUTIONS SOUGHT CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER TO SPEAK WITH INMATES.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

MONTEREY PARK - The vice president of a civil rights group vowed Wednesday to meet with every African-American inmate involved in last week's race-related riots at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center to learn more about the conditions at the jail.

Melvin Farmer of the National Alliance for Positive Action said he planned to act as a mediator between the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the inmates, who were segregated after three days of rioting believed initiated by Latino inmates.

``I will go in there and discuss with inmates their options,'' Farmer said. ``Then I would like to talk to Sheriff Lee Baca to hopefully implement some program for better conditions for all inmates.''

Farmer said that because African-American inmates are heavily outnumbered by their Latino counterparts, he wants the jail system to help even out the odds in jail dorms to decrease violence. He suggested that jail dorms, now segregated to ease the racial tension, have at least 40 percent African-Americans when officials begin reintegrating.

``Before they are returned to the general population, we feel it must be agreed upon that the ethnic makeup be proportionate,'' Farmer said.

Los Angeles County Assistant Sheriff Dennis Dahlman said officials try to maintain 30 percent representation of African-Americans and 45 percent representation of Latino inmates in the dorms.

An estimated 58 percent of the inmates at the jail facility are Latino; about 40 percent are African-Americans, officials said.

Although parents of African-American inmates want to hold off on reintegrating the inmates, Dahlman said that is difficult to do while running the jails and not a good idea because it is not an accurate reflection of society.

Parents of African-American inmates have retained attorney Christopher Darden, former O.J. Simpson trial prosecutor, to represent their sons. Darden said he supports the African-American inmates who are hesitant to return to the general jail population.

``What will they do, walk blindly back? No reasonable person would agree to go back,'' Darden said.

Darden has been asked to represent a number of inmates at Pitchess and is still deciding what his role will be in the matter.

``I am more concerned with the global issue of how inmates (in general) are treated overall in county jail'' he said.

Darden said there have been so many similar attacks that he wondered why some mechanism was not put in place earlier to quell further disturbances.

``If you are a black inmate, you would rather be in solitary confinement than general population because of the color of your skin,'' he said.

Darden said Pitchess inmates in jail on misdemeanor charges are frightened to death about the situation at the jail, adding that inmates have told him that it is an ongoing practice to have about six African-American males in a dorm made up of 60 inmates.

Dahlman reiterated that the Sheriff's Department monitors dorms for demographics on a daily basis, adding that it is possible for ratios to be thrown out of balance because some inmates leave for classes or for court.

``That would reduce the numbers left in the dorms,'' he said. ``It's not something we want to happen.''

Darden pointed out that many of the inmates have yet to go to trial.

``If riots should occur, there are families, all of whom are law abiding, taxpaying, 8-to-5 working people and these inmates mean something to them,'' Darden said.

Evelyn Womack, 56, the mother of an inmate at the North County Correctional Facility at Pitchess, said her son was injured during the first day of rioting April 24. Marlon Womack, 22, had called her the day after the rioting and told her that he was jumped on and hit.

On visiting day last Sunday, Evelyn Womack saw his swollen knuckles and the cuts on his shoulders, arms and back.

Womack said her son is waiting to be transferred to state prison. He was convicted of buying stolen property, she said.

Since the eruption of violence at Pitchess, Evelyn Womack, of Los Angeles, said she has been unable to sleep at night and has lost weight.

``I only have one son. I hope they don't kill him,'' she said. ``(My son) doesn't know why it happened. It's hatred, pure hatred.''

Womack said she believed the fighting would continue.

Sheriff's officials were still waiting to receive word Wednesday afternoon on the condition of a 21-year-old African-American inmate placed on life support after being injured during one of the riots.

Brain activity was detected in the inmate and charges had been filed against at least four Latino inmates blamed for the injuries, Dahlman said.