This is a fascinating radio conversation.
Warren asks challenging questions about all the criticism that has been leveled against Paul Tanaka— by the report from the Citizens Commission on Jail Violence, by the press, by members of the sheriff’s department…and others.
Paul Tanaka is very emphatic—and often colorful—in his replies. (He mainly says that everyone is spouting fiction and/or straight-up lying, but his way of putting it is a lot more interesting and detailed than what I’ve just written here.)
In any case, I don’t want to try to summarize this interview. I strongly recommend that you listen for yourself.
It’s worth it.
You can listen right here or listen in real time at 7 pm, on KCRW 89.9
Oh come on…..Fiction, really??? Not a good interview when you sound angry and defensive.
Nixon thought the same thing that everyone was out to get him! So,all the wits, judges, reports and the entire panel all got together ahead of time to get their story straight and cooked up this entire story to get Tanaka?? Why would everyone lie? Tanaka already admitted that he wasn’t in their chain of command. So, why would they need to be afraid? Tanaka was the US why didn’t he initiate an IAB or ICIB, he was the US? That way he could have presented all his evidence. Tanaka never names anyone that lied about him, why? Why didn’t Tanaka stay and fight back if he was innocent as he asserts? Tanaka had POBR protection and again called wits and would have had the chance to present his side which he didn’t get at the commission hearing? Tanaka forgot as a LT at Century he was nailed for Harassment! Unless Tanaka finessed that too!
Very Good questions by Olney, Tanaka, I guess, thinks if he says it enough times everyone will believe him. He is an angry little man and gets very defensive. He had an interesting re-tort when he responded, it is like when you grew up and you were taught communism was bad. It isn’t? Made as much sense as when he said, I wasn’t raised to be a whistle-blower.
Tanaka claims everyone lied abut him to the CCJV. Tanaka said he isn’t a name caller. Well, he doesn’t have that right. He is a candidate for Sheriff and if he is going to make those allegations he needs to identify what people lied and how was it a lie. As Bagdad Bob would say, Step Up or Step Out. Tanaka doesn’t respect the members of the commission or their findings. This wasn’t a neighborhood watch group, you can read all of their resume’s online.
Tanaka is right about one thing. Most of the Brass does not deep down support Baca, they are just covering their own ass and Job. Although the best decision Sheriff made was placing Todd Rogers in position that required a high degree of integrity.
Tanaka gives the analogy that all the stars in a bucket don’t top Baca’s five. This may be true for decision making and direction of department but that should not have stopped Tanaka from reporting Bishop Turner to outside authorities. Tanaka is so appalled on CH7 about the money but he had the exact same info back when the event occurred and did nothing. He too was worried about his own ass then. Tanaka states he has never did anything wrong. I guess funneling 300 vests to Cambodia through Gardena skirting Custom requirements was all legit? Or how about Reserve Emerson G paying for his wedding and then being provided with a County car. All those cars were yanked back after being exposed by the Times. IF there was nothing wrong with the Reserves having them then why take them back? And of course, he had nothing to do with the hiring of his secretaries son who should have never been hired. That is a small sliver of I have never done anything wrong.
He is right, he wasn’t over the Jails on the Org Chart but he definitely called the personnel shots. He walked all over Marv Cavanaugh because he could. The bottom line is there is no way you can run a campaign on all of the 10-30 stuff that went on when you were the number 2 man, who many considered the number 1 man.
Tanaka’s campaign already has cracks in it. Several weeks ago the camp was flaunting that they had both of the unions (PPOA and ALADS). Well the elections are over and Tanaka now doesn’t control either one. M&M lost the PPOA vote and Hayhurst was removed as ALADS president. Many of us who never voted in an election made sure we did this time because we knew what this was all about.
There is a new Ops Lt at Temple, Chris M. Captain Nee will be moving along very soon. Even the Tanaka camp says that he is in over his head. It is so entertaining the Tanaka people whining and stating how unfair these transfers are etc…. It was all good with you for the last several years when you were on the good side of things. Many people were run out of this Department and careers demolished by Tanaka, sometimes over the littlest thing.
Paul, Im sure you have a lot more dirt on the Sheriff. But if you are truly the law enforcement Professional that you profess you are, you are challenged to immediately go to the DA, AG, or FBI and tell everything now and not piece mail this over the next 7 months to CH7 for personal and campaign gain, This is a challenge we can easily judge you on based on future reporting. If I hear sensational stories coming out next May of illegal activities of the Sheriff from you then we will know what you are all about, That would be you and not doing the right thing NOW. Lets see how much you love LASD.
I had to laugh out loud when I listened to PT’s explanation of how everyone was lying about his involvement in Custody Division during 2008-2010. He wasn’t in charge during that time, so he didn’t have any part in what was going on?? What a hoot!! The facts speak for themselves, Mr. T. There is no getting around it. Continual references to the org chart aside, you had a free hand to do anything you wanted in the Department, and everyone (except maybe you) knows it.
Um Mr. T (my hand is raised to pose a question),
Was the report stating you executed a man not an allegation of your misconduct? Didn’t you have a BBQ party in Lynwood where there was some poor and unreported conflict resolution with gangsters? Of course this is fictional representation of your custom and practices.
Fundamentally disagreeing and use of metaphors makes the bs sound better. You were right about the hiring standards, but you don’t hold people accountable… Louis Durran and Greg Thompson were great examples of that accountability… Oh yea, Bernice Abrams too.
Loved to hear that rage in your voice as well.
Floyd Hayhurst is weak. He allowed one of his Unit Rep to continue to lie and deny regarding corruption and didn’t do anything about. I know for a fact he received written documentation (email) in the past 2 years. Hopefully Macias is better
So, how did the Mr T fundraiser go this weekend.
Just listened to the Tall Paul radio interview. Following a strict chain of command? That came from the mouth of an idiot that was receiving emails directly from Custody Deputies complaining about Sergeants and above. Paul, drop out of the race now. Your going to get exposed at some point.
Look up Hipocracy in Webster’s, and you will see The Little Man’s mug. Keep giving those interviews Paul, the voters are seeing who you really are. Just wait until you get a hard hitting interview with real questions about your past, lies, corruption and coverup. You will fall apart.
Well, it looks like we have a law enforcement situation here. Let me go ahead and notify my aide….
Voters can now see the respect Mr. Tanaka gets from rank and file from the numerous responses above. He is a man that will only create more conflict on the department. Including the ones shown in the picture behind him that all gained favor from him, Loui Duran, and stand to gain from this election. Voter Beware of this guy. [Deleted by Editor.]
#11, Ouch.
Mr. Olney did a great job. I love his line “You’re not on trial, you’re running for sheriff.” Paul won’t put a link to that interview on his media pages.
Celeste – your now allowing these fools to mess with families!!!
Pretty low class Celeste!!!
gmanwhistle, How would you know anything about Tanaka’ family.
Dear Pink Owl,
I’ve made it clear that it is not permissible to attack people’s personal lives or their families. I catch nearly all of those offending comments when they turn up. However sometimes a sentence or phrase will slip through when I’m overly busy, as I was tonight.
At those times, I’m grateful when people quickly call my attention to the problem—either via private email or an online comment— so that I may handle the matter quickly
In the case of gmanwhistle’s comment, the inappropriate passage is now edited out..
However, while I appreciate the fact that you called my attention to that unfortunate sentence, It is exceedingly tiresome that you could not manage to do so without embedding in your message some kind of self-righteous, adolescent lecture.
If you persist in this vein you’ll find yourself deleted, a la Rule # 4 in the above Ten Rules for Commenting.
Pink Owl, how is that whole Tanaka cheerleading thing working out? Every time your candidate opens his mouth, it further cements in the minds of voters that he is insincere, untrustworthy, corrupt, and not worthy of being a deputy sheriff, let alone the big kahuna.
Voters do not support the corrupt, the unqualified, the inexperienced, and the uneducated. Your boy qualifies in all four categories…
ps: spare me the accounting degree crap, have him send his resume to Price Waterhouse…
This interview is a wonderful example of who Paul really is. Paul’s narcissism is such that he cannot maintain his composure when his faults, deception, incompetence and unethical behavior are exposed and done so publicly. His denial of these acts, are not delusional as some have suggested. Baca is delusional, Tanaka is not. Rather Paul simply denies “his involvement” and goes to great lengths distance himself from what is widely known and verifiably so, I might add, of his doing. Paul absolutely created, by design, the dysfunction within Men’s Central Jail. He built that entire structure by (a term I have read on this blog several times) “Hand Selecting” supervisory and management personnel to carry out his vision of how a jail should be operated. Paul’s vision was to turn MCJ into the Century, Lynwood and Lennox Staions of Custody Division. Again, this is all of his making. Every person of every rank he sent to that facility had their specific marching orders, kick ass and cover it up. Those orders were given out of the arrogance of his power by virtue of his rank and the unquestionable empowerment by Baca. He felt he was untouchable, invincible in every way. And, here is the revelation, once the Feds became involved and it was clear they are going for multiple criminal indictments, Paul realized this was external; he had no control over their mission and objective.
Now where does that lead us. This is where a form of Psycopathy kicks into high gear. Paul has distanced himself from all of his creations, his master plan to dominate, rule and control every aspect of LASD. Paul has “used” everyone within his inner/outer circle, and it was easy. He controlled every coveted assignment and virtually every promotion. All of those individuals who carried Paul’s water, who carried out every act of the master plan, who covered up and engaged in unethical and illegal conduct to pacify Paul, you are on your own, trust me. He has laid out the groundwork long ago to cover himself or so he thinks. Paul has repeated his denial of involvement at every turn. He thinks he has insulated himself from any accountability or complicity. All of you have been used, but that was known and accepted. To use a layman’s term, you have all and all will be, thrown under the bus. Listen carefully to his words, the contex, the psychology of it all, and you will see who he has always been, manifest itself for all to see. His involvement from his days at Lynwood to his final days as the Undersheriff have ALL been revealed to the FBI and surprisingly, to much of the media. The Feds will act in time, the media with interviews of “their” choosing. And for once in his professional life, Mr. Tanaka is going to be exposed and held accountable for all that he has done. Mr. Olney hit a nerve in his interview, in retrospect, an excellent and revealing interview. It provided an interesting look into Paul Tanaka’s mind. All you folks of all ranks who have been fired, demoted, heavy suspensions, under investigation and pending criminal indictments, you have been used.
HAPPY THANKSTAKING…
#17 Searchlight, your post is the most accurate depiction of Paul Tanaka and his career I have ever read on this site! Bravo!
Searchlight, a job well done describing Tanaka to a “T.” A careful examination of his website reveals all we need to know about Paul: It’s all about descriptions from his circle of cronies about how great he is, a narcissistic exercise unparalleled in local politics. Note the absence of ANYTHING of substance on the issues.
Of curious note is the lack of support for the Tanaka campaign from law enforcement leaders in the know, both current and retired. We have the obligatory endorsements from the corrupt crowd of LASD captains who have numbered cigar coins, and the low-information city council officials Paul has cultivated relations with over the last dozen years in elected office.
Move on over to the Olmsted website and you see the polar opposite: ringing endorsements from dozens of law enforcement leaders in the know, and links/discussions of all the major issues affecting the LASD.
Tanaka wants to impress the low information voters with the rank he achieved while employed by LASD, while at the same time pretending he had nothing to do with all that transpired under his watch. It’s quite comical to see it in play, like the interview with KCRW. Hey Paul, I’ve got an org chart that shows you don’t belong anywhere near the LASD!
In summary, there is no upside to Baca’s and Tanaka’s campaign: they are going to try and bullshit as many low information voters they can and squeak by to the runoff before the indictments start rolling in.
Olmsted’s campaign, on the other hand, has no downside with things looking better every day. He understands voters are more educated than before and no longer rely on single sources for election information.
The LA Times printed their Thanksgiving “Thanks” list last Thursday. This is an exact quote from that list. For all citizens of LA County and to the employees of LASD, do you really want 4 more years of Baca-Tanaka? Are you not embarrassed enough by the exposure of the corruption within LASD that they created?
“The departure from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department of Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, who’d been accused by the Citizens’ Commission on Jail Violence of trying to undermine the credibility of internal affairs investigations.”
That about says it all, folks.