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Former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Undersheriff Tim Murakami admitted to formerly having a tattoo associated with what critics have called deputy gangs, though he resisted that characterization of the groups.

Murakami was the second in command to ex-Sheriff Alex Villanueva, a noted denier of the existence of deputy gangs, even though Murakami told the Civilian Oversight Commission this week that “I believe that” Villanueva knew of the tattoo associated with an alleged gang called the Cavemen, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Former Undersheriff Tim Murakami
Los Angeles County Undersheriff Tim Murakami addresses the media during a March 25, 2021, press conference held outside the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles with members of local Asian community groups in a show of solidarity and support for the local Asian American and Pacific Islander community. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Villanueva told the Times that he “was concerned with conduct, not tattoos,” adding that he was focused on fixing understaffing within the department, and “chasing phantom deputy gangs is not going to improve recruitment.”

Murakami said he got this tattoo in the 1980s while he worked at the East Los Angeles Station, though he said he’s since removed the tattoo, or at least altered its appearance so that “it’s no longer there,” he told the commission.

Sean Kennedy, chair of the COC, told the Times Thursday that Murakami is the third undersheriff to admit having an alleged deputy gang tattoo.

“After dodging the issue for years, Mr. Murakami under oath finally had to admit that he is a tattooed Caveman, and that more recently he altered his ankle tattoo to escape detection,” Kennedy said.

In addition to the Cavemen, other alleged deputy gangs include the Banditos, the Jump Out Boys, the Grim Reapers, the Indians and the Little Red Devils.