From [HERE] Despite a judge's order, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has refused to allow an attorney to take photographs of a client he said was beaten so badly by jail deputies that he was unrecognizable.

Deputy Public Defender John F. Montoya said the inmate, Federico Bustos, suffered severe bruising two months ago to his face, stomach, chest, right arm, both legs and feet. Bustos' left eye was so swollen that Montoya said he initially feared his client had lost the eye.

Sheriff's officials repeatedly turned down his requests to allow a public defender's investigator into the jail with a camera to document the injuries, even after he obtained a court order permitting photos, he said.

"He was so severely beaten that I could not initially recognize him," Montoya said. "I don't understand what the Sheriff's Department is trying to hide."