On Monday, August 19, LA County Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff ordered a preliminary injunction against the rehiring of former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy Caren “Carl” Mandoyan, whose reinstatement the LA County Board of Supervisors’ believes is not lawful.
The ruling came after months of claims by Sheriff Alex Villanueva that he assuredly had the power to rehire Mandoyan, who the sheriff said been unfairly terminated by former sheriff Jim McDonnell.
“It’s the issue of due process,” Villanueva said at a March 2019 press conference referring to why he felt it was necessary to rehire Mandoyan. “And when it comes to defending and supporting the Constitution particularly the 14th Amendment, it’s very important.”
In his order, Judge Beckloff wrote that Mandoyan must now “cease to hold himself out as a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff,” that he must “relinquish all County property in his possession,” including his badge, his gun, and his uniform.
Carl Mandoyan attempting to break into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment/via video supplied by LA County Civil Service Commission in response to CPRA request
And, in case the rest wasn’t clear enough, Beckloff also ordered Sheriff Villanueva to “cease to recognize or hold Mandoyan out as a Deputy Sheriff or a County employee,” and that he should direct everyone else in the department to act accordingly.
Beckloff’s order is the newest development in the ongoing legal battle that began on March 4 of this year, when the board filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Villanueva arguing that the sheriff acted outside the scope of his authority in rehiring Mandoyan.
The lawsuit itself will be settled at a future trial.
Back in March, when the board first asked Judge Beckloff for a temporary injunction reversing Mandoyan’s hiring, Beckloff turned down the request.
Nearly five-and-a-half months, and multiple legal filings later, at a hearing last Friday, Beckloff hinted that this time he would side with the board on the matter of the injunction.
At the Friday hearing, although Beckloff agreed with the sheriff’s attorney that the Board of Supervisors could not interfere with the sheriff’s “prosecutorial and investigative duties,” the judge also made clear that, when it comes to rehiring a department member once he or she has been terminated, and that termination is affirmed by the Civil Service Commission, rehiring such a person is then subject to Civil Service Commission rules, statutorily speaking.
And Mandoyan’s firing was, in fact, affirmed by the Civil Service Commission.
Sheriff Villanueva and March 12, 2019 board meeting discussing his Truth and Reconciliation program, telling the board that the Office of Inspector General would have a “front-row seat” for the process of evaluating any future disciplinary cases, which turned out not to be true./via WitnessLA
Specifically, the former deputy was fired by the LASD on September 14, 2016, for domestic violence, stalking his former girlfriend, and lying to Internal Affairs investigators about his actions.
Mandoyan subsequently appealed his termination to the Civil Service Commission.
After a five day hearing, which resulted in approximately 962 pages of transcription, and approximately 600 pages of exhibits, the commission’s hearing officer issued a 29-page report upholding the LASD’s decision to oust Mandoyan.
The deputy again appealed. And, on May 16, 2018, the five-member commission unanimously affirmed Mandoyan’s termination.
On Monday, Villanueva issued a statement saying he was disappointed by the ruling, but he has “immediately implemented the courts will regarding Deputy Mandoyan until a verdict is given at trial.”
Thus far, the court fight over Mandoyan’s rehiring has reportedly cost the taxpayers nearly $3,000,000 according to Lisa Bartley and Miriam Hernandez, at KABC-7.
(Interestingly, when the sheriff was interviewed last Monday, August 12, by LA Weekly publisher Brian Calle, he guessed the legal price tag was up to $2 million. He also said the department had no deputy gang problem. But that’s a discussion for another time.)
Conflicts with watchdogs and Dem Club supporters
Even apart from the ruling, the past week has been unusually drama-filled for the sheriff.
Max Huntsman, Los Angeles County Inspector General, at Oct. 2018 PRIT meeting, after speaking as a subject matter expert about the challenges of providing oversight for a large public agency/viaWLA
Last Monday, August 12, each of the county’s board members received a letter from Undersheriff Tim Murakami. The letter informed the board that the sheriff’s department had opened up a criminal investigation of LA County Inspector General Max Huntsman and his office.
(The rest of LA learned about the investigation on Wednesday morning, August 13, when Lisa Bartley of ABC-7 also broke that story.)
According to Murakami’s letter, the department is investigating Huntsman for accessing confidential personnel files of high-ranking LASD executives, including those of Sheriff Villanueva.
Yet, the more one drills down into the information underlying this accusation, the less factually sound the investigation appears to be.
Added to the sheriff-bites-watchdog affair, on Tuesday night of last week, the members of the Los Angeles Democratic Club voted to issue a formal and very strongly worded rebuke to the sheriff that referred to “numerous complaints of abuse of his office” which have “eroded the trust of the public,” wrote the LADC.
The club’s resolution specifically mentioned what the club called Villanueva’s “illegal rehiring” of Mandoyan.
Since the very active support of the LADC, and its multiple sister democratic clubs, was arguably a critical factor in the sheriff’s victory last year, the rebuke is not a minor matter.
On the topic of the sheriff and Inspector General Max Huntsman, a couple of incidents relate, at least tangentially, to Monday’s ruling on the rehiring of Mandoyan.
First, in the week of July 8 of this year, the Office of the Inspector General released an exhaustively researched analysis of the sheriff’s so-called Truth and Reconciliation Program.
The report specifically looked at how the program worked when it came to the controversial re-hiring of Carl Mandoyan.
In order to write the 34-page report, the OIG analysts reviewed well over 2000 pages of documents, plus photos, videos, interview transcripts and more (most of which WitnessLA has also reviewed).
This rigorous analysis led the OIG investigators to a series of detailed conclusions about the sheriff’s process in reinstating Deputy Mandoyan, among them the conclusion that many—if not all—of the claims that the sheriff made about how and why he came to rehire Carl Mandoyan have turned out to be provably false.
As it happens, a month prior to the OIG report’s release, Huntsman met with the sheriff about some other issues regarding transparency and cooperation between his office and the department, at which time Villanueva issued a threat. If Huntsman released the report on Mandoyan and the Truth and Reconciliation Program, he told IG, there would be “consequences.”
A month later, the OIG released the report.
A month after that, the undersheriff announced that the department was investigating Max Huntsman for criminal acts.
Why continue to include taxpayers money based upon cronyism? Ridiculous!
Looking forward to the trial. The trial will expose the corruption by the BOS, Sheriff McBuckles, IAB and so on.
I’m betting the BOS will settle rather than risk exposing their corruption.
Seems like a bad precedent and major overreach by a judge to step in, and impose their rule on who the LA County Sheriff can re-hire and in simple terms associate with. Again, if the LA County DA and LASD found no behavior or actions that rose to the level of criminal prosecution, but instead were internal policy violations why did it come to this? Mr. Mandoyan was already disciplined if I understand correctly.
It’s the Civil Service Commission, which former Sheriff McBuckles and Grand Inquisitor Teran “Torquamada” heavily utilized and relied on, merely being used as a proxy tool by the BOS. The BOS has waged a proxy war with the Sheriff and found a perfect proxy in the Mandoyan case. The BOS and media have kept this single incident at the forefront of the Sheriff’s term, while the jails are literally falling apart and bigger issues are basically ignored (eg, homelessness, overcrowding, early release, mentally ill and employee stress, etc). What about the good works the Sheriff and his personal are doing to keep the residents of LA County safe? Ignored….
I’m sure Mr. Mandoyan will ultimately come out ahead at the expense of the LA County taxpayers due to the arrogance and vindictiveness of the BOS. Since Mr. Mandoyan was not criminally charged, yet has had his image blasted over the TV in a not so flattering way, was disciplined but still singled out for what is nothing more than punitive action, it seems like a clear case of employeer bias. The county usually uses the court to “ride out and use delay tactics” to outlast, wear down and financially break plantiffs who bring cases against it.
I hope Mr. Mandoyan has a good lawyer, time and the funds to fight this one. It stinks on so many levels.
HE WON’T WIN , IT’S A CIVIL SERVICE CASE. LASD CAN’T DECIDE ON THOSE MATTERS. ON THE OTHER NOTE, I HEARD AV ROLLED UP THE TRAINING BUREAU CAPTAIN! NOT COOL ! WORD IS THAT, I GUESS HIS SON DIDN’T WANT TO WEAR A SUIT NOR GET FRESH HAIRCUTS IN THE ACADEMY . THE DIS JUMPED ON HIS CASE AND HIS FEELINGS WERE HURT , SO HE TOLD DADDY AND THEY OVERNIGHT TRANSFERRED THE CAPTAIN.
NO MORE SUITS, PT NOR FRESH HAIRCUTS FOR THAT ACADEMY, JUST REGULAR CLOTHING ATTIRE. WHAT AN ASSOME WAY TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR BABY BOY AV. SOMEONE SHOUL CALL POST ON THIS.
HE’LL LOSE……
I WISH I WAS THAT AWESOME 20 YEARS AGO LOL BACA DIDN’T HOOK ME UP LIKE THAT LOL
1. 415: Of course you have proof?
2. The trial will be interesting as to what happens. The trial is the way to go, then we get to hear everything all out in the open.
3. Huntsman reminds me of Comey
4. PLEASE NOTE(WHAT WAS NOT IN THIS ARTICLE)THE LAWYERS FOR THE LASD ADVISED THE SHERIFF THAT HE(SHERIFF) HAD THE AUTHORITY TO REHIRE THE DEPUTY!
Didn’t they say he was UNFIT to be a deputy sheriff? Watch him loose his badge on paper so he will still have one.
And you guys laughed at Baca & Tanaka, now they’re laughing at you guys. For you Mandoyan followers, DENIAL is the river flowing through your imagination!
With no offense to Sheriff Villanueva, winning an election is fine but going from a Private to a General is another story.
I have been saying that Diana Teran and Huntsman were crooked and corrupted. They forced weak, inexperienced, impressionable easy to manipulate investigators at IAB and ICIB to manufacture cases against deputies, for political reasons and more. These crooked investigators got creative worked on the gray, and in fact, they manufacture cases against deputies, by coaching, threatening, intimidating witnesses, victims, or anyone who would say the right “words”.
They destroyed exculpatory evidence, interviews, or just pretended it did not exist. Some of these investigators sat on the stand and falsely testified to facts they knew were not true, only to rehabilitate their manufactured cases, which ended up being dismissed. These investigators need to be held accountable, and in the process, plenty of evidence against McDonnell, Teran, Huntsman, etc. will be uncovered. The department should have access to their iPhones, their email accounts, that will provide plenty of evidence about their conspiracy. Further, some of these executives deleted their iPhones, and emails which is a crime, and that alone should be enough to prosecute them.
The McDonnell/Teran regime then should be held to answer, for conspiracy to deprive US citizens of constitutional rights, pursuant to US Title 18, sections 241 and 242.
Some on this forum like “Cognistator” have ridiculed me for making such “crazy” assertions. I know a thing or two, about what I say, and I pray to god that Undersheriff Murakami, has the fortitude to fight such formidable evildoers, protected by the LA County establishment, the LA Times, and WitnessLA.
I know this forum belongs to WitnessLA, and they only believe in the first amendment when I agree with their agenda, so, I would not be surprised if this comment is deleted. The LA Times has blocked me from commenting on their website, the LA County supervisors also blocked my comments, because they don’t want the facts to come out. I give thanks to God every day for Alex being the sheriff, otherwise, what I say for sure would be buried in the oblivion.
Please note, that the LA Times, nor WitnessLa jumped on the story about the criminal investigation being opened against the evildoers, the question is why? The answer is because they are part of the greater conspiracy, the agenda to hurt deputies in general, regardless of their alleged offense.
I have been saying that Diana Teran and Huntsman were crooked and corrupted. They forced weak, inexperienced, impressionable easy to manipulate investigators at IAB and ICIB to manufacture cases against deputies, for political reasons and more. These crooked investigators got creative worked on the gray, and in fact, they manufacture cases against deputies, by coaching, threatening, intimidating witnesses, victims, or anyone who would say the right “words”.
They destroyed exculpatory evidence, interviews, or just pretended it did not exist. Some of these investigators sat on the stand and falsely testified to facts they knew were not true, only to rehabilitate their manufactured cases, which ended up being dismissed. These investigators need to be held accountable, and in the process, plenty of evidence against McDonnell, Teran, Huntsman, etc. will be uncovered. The department should have access to their iPhones, their email accounts, that will provide plenty of evidence about their conspiracy. Further, some of these executives deleted their iPhones, and emails which is a crime, and that alone should be enough to prosecute them.
The McDonnell/Teran regime then should be held to answer, for conspiracy to deprive US citizens of constitutional rights, pursuant to US Title 18, sections 241 and 242.
Some on this forum like “Cognistator” have ridiculed me for making such “crazy” assertions. I know a thing or two, about what I say, and I pray to god that Undersheriff Murakami, has the fortitude to fight such formidable evildoers, protected by the LA County establishment, the LA Times, and WitnessLA.
I know this forum belongs to WitnessLA, and they only believe in the first amendment when I agree with their agenda, so, I would not be surprised if this comment is deleted. The LA Times has blocked me from commenting on their website, the LA County supervisors also blocked my comments, because they don’t want the facts to come out. I give thanks to God every day for Alex being the sheriff, otherwise, what I say for sure would be buried in the oblivion.
Please note, that the LA Times, nor WitnessLa jumped on the story about the criminal investigation being opened against the evildoers, the question is why? The answer is because they are part of the greater conspiracy, the agenda to hurt deputies in general, regardless of their alleged offense.
Be patient…
Nope, he will not lose…be patient…
FYI…415G is a Sergeant who knows Carl, from their time at West Hollywood, 415G is a looser, that if my instinct is correct he is the guy who almost got killed by a parolee, for failing to exercise common sense, good tactics, and intelligence…he forced the executives to rewrite the foot pursuit policy, so he could understand it…
Something else about 415G, he was fired at least once. It is sad a deputy gets fired, but I did not feel sadness when 415G was fired. When I learned 415G was rehired by the McDonnell/Teran regime, I was shocked…I would take Carl as a partner 100 times, over 415G…
I suggest Alex does and investigation into the rehiring of 415G by McDonnell, there may be something fishy there…
Hi there Bastard. I was looking forward to reading what you had to say on this latest, in my opinion, biased and misleading article. I’ll be surprised if my comment doesn’t get deleted.
I can attest to a lot of what you’re saying and it’s definitely not crazy, it’s the truth!
It’s so obvious how the media is covering up for the L.A. BOS, McBuckle, Teran, and the rest of the crooks in power under McBuckles. Funny how that Maya LIE or Lau from the LA Slimes is all over Sheriff Villanueva like flies to sh*t. The minute the Mandoyan case settles, we won’t hear a peep from her. I too, am blocked from commenting on LA Times.
I feel that the judge in this matter is compromised. Hopefully in the upcoming trial, the jury will see different. Although, as I mentioned previously, the corrupt local government can’t risk their corruption from being exposed so they will settle.
I keep my faith in God that the darkness will come to light, hopefully sooner than later.
Like you said, the trick is patience.
415G;
“…SO HE TOLD DADDY AND THEY OVERNIGHT….”
Lessee how long it takes the son to make Undersheriff….
So many online attorneys. Hey Bastard, why don’t you give everyone an Court summary and decision to save money.
SHUP CARL LOL
SHUT UP CARL , YOU ARE DONE !! GIVE IT UP BROTHER……
CAN’T WAIT FOR ERIC PARRA TO START ELECTIONS!! BYE AV!!!
now that’s real warrior , not fake like av….. worked sb with him great guy real cop . You got my vote sir….. he earned all his ranks lol punked av lots of times …..
No mijo, I’m not Carl. It’s one thing when people call you a fool, but you’re proving you’re a fool. Your attempt at writing is atrocious! Why on God’s green earth would you embarrass yourself? That’s a rhetorical question so don’t answer it.
415G is a Sergeant?!! Oh my! I hate to admit it but I do recall a time, about 20 years ago when Baca was desperately scraping the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, to fill the position of Deputy Sheriff trainee. Yes, it all makes sense now. What a shame. That was a terrible, pathetic time in the departments history. I heard the “standards” were lowered but I didn’t realize illiteracy was acceptable . (sarc)
415G you sound like an absolute fool. You talk so much smack it’s humorous. There is no reason why DSG’s can’t report to the academy in a suit that is not black. It’s called business attire. There is no reason for every male DSG to have a shaved head like some 415G as you call yourself. Thats where the gang mentality starts. Please don’t say well that’s how the military does it. LASD is not the military if we were people like you would be discharged regularly with no Civil Service. And as far as Parra running for Sheriff, please, that guy has more skeletons than a haunted house.
Still laughing, post your name, email and or phone number, I’ll give it to you personally…
Hey, 145G, can’t wait either, to put Parra on blast, for his conspiracy to hurt deputies…there will be enough evidence to get him as a co-conspirator to deprive US Citizens of rights, in violation of US Title 18, section 241-242…stand by…you 415G are an example, once a digging begins, it gets deeper and dirtier…some times, small cases, turn out to be biggest…
The first amendment applies to the government infringing on your “speech.” WLA doesn’t work for the government, but you knew all that right?
Yes sir, infringement of civil rights only applies to government employees, as a private company, both the LA Times and the witnessLA can block me all they want. However, the county BOS may not, as previously ruled in a case against president Trump. Happy now Mr. Really???
You left out Mcdonald. Your description of your IAB is exactly what she has done to Probation. Pre-determined outcomes, threatening SOI and witnesses. She even went so far as to get 2 LASD IAB investigators to conduct an investigation into one of ours that ended in termination. Wonder if AV was even aware? It’s all political. Show good stats to the BOS even if it means tanking the careers of some great deputies. Time to abandon this hellhole.
“This rigorous analysis led the OIG investigators to a series of detailed conclusions about the sheriff’s process in reinstating Deputy Mandoyan, among them the conclusion that many—if not all—of the claims that the sheriff made about how and why he came to rehire Carl Mandoyan have turned out to be provably false.”
These are your words, Celeste, along with your claim that Sheriff V threatened the OIG. What is your proof, Max Huntsman told you so it must be true? LOL, let me know how that works out. I used to share the belief that you were a pretty straight shooter, liberal in orientation, but decidedly balanced in your reporting. You have abandoned any pretense of objectivity. You smugly recite the drivel generated by the OIG, the Times, and the BOS as the gospel truth, without even bothering to critically assess the spin your posting on this site. Maybe, just maybe, the sheriff knows a lot more than he is letting on. And maybe, just maybe, the truth will eventually come out and show the BOS for what they truly are, political animals hell-bent on emasculating the office of sheriff for their narrow political interests. The Times has said as much themselves, pounding the drums to make the sheriff an appointed office, not an elected one.
You left out Mcdonald. Your description of your IAB is exactly what she has done to Probation. Pre-determined outcomes, threatening SOI and witnesses. She even went so far as to get 2 LASD IAB investigators to conduct an investigation into one of ours that ended in termination. Wonder if AV was even aware? It’s all political. Show good stats to the BOS even if it means tanking the careers of some great deputies. Time to abandon this hellhole.
SDPO2004:
“Wonder if AV was even aware?”
Good question.
Two LASD investigators over in another County department conducting internal investigations?
We should all wonder about that.
SDPO2004, you can throw the IAB investigators names right here for all to see. They are government employees and don’t have the right to privacy while being criticized as a result of their actions, as county employees.
Do you see any mercy on Carl? If you believe they maliciously conducted an investigation with a predetermined outcome, find a way for Alex to know about it.
WitnessLA may delete your comment, as they have done so in the past when criticizing IAB people like Christine Roam, but, hey, you should try. All we can do is try to expose people, what if anything is done, we cannot control.
Hey Cognistator, what do you think about the investigation against Teran and Huntsman? Last time I said they were criminals you implied I was crazy, and there was nothing there. You indirectly took a jab at Alex for not doing anything about it because there was nothing.
I do hope they find something, and just following the Teran’s modus operandi, they will find plenty.
Bastard
“Hey, Cognistator, what do you think about the investigation against Teran and Huntsman?”
What investigation?
Due process is being adhered to once again for Mandoyan.
The denial along with rose tinted glasses by Villanueva’s followers only exacerbates the brouhaha which ultimately & unfortunately will end up losing.
Veatch and Mah
Ultimately, Deputy Mandoyan will likely lose his case. As most department insiders know, one doesn’t have to be filed on by the DA to lose their job. In fact, the DA’s office has historically been quite reluctant to file on peace officers if they would be facing major discipline (read that as termination) for the same offense.
Is it the most heinous case ever? Certainly not – not even close. Some peace officer couples end their relationships with serious DV, guns pulled, shots fired, cars and houses vandalized, or worse. Once two employees decide to have an intimate relationship, their familiarity with one another transcends that of mere coworkers. Any claims against one another would be viewed with a jaundiced eye. Having said that, management failed both of these deputies by not grabbing both of them by the stack and swivel early on.
Deputy Mandoyan’s real problems arise from his decision to lie to investigators. When video exists that refutes your statements, you have dug a hole too deep to climb out of. The threats he made on her voice mail didn’t help him either.
I don’t know whether Deputy Mandoyan’s Superior Court trial will be de novo (a new trial on all issues) or simply a review of the Civil Service proceedings, which ensures that the government entity didn’t abuse its discretion or violate due process/POBAR rights. Maybe somebody with more knowledge can weigh in on that.
Good to see Sheriff Villanueva chastised and made to follow the law. He seems to have a huge ego but makes no rational sense.
Still not sure what law Sheriff Villanueva was alleged to have broken by reinstating Mr. Mandoyan? This looks more like a case of sour grapes and political payback on the part of the LA County BOS, and an example of “whose got the bigger b#lls” as evidenced by the extremes the BOS and LA media machine have gone to make an example of this single Sheriff’s Department employee.
The BOS changed plans on replacing the outdated, barbaric, obsolete and falling apart Men’s Centrsl Jail after years of studies without consulting any Sheriff’s Department personnel, and then scrapped the entire plan altigethet in an apparent effort to “put the Sheriff in his place”.
Sometimes the obvious is so plain and clear we ignore it I guess.
The sheriff may not have broken any law by reinstating Deputy Mandoyan; however, he certainly engaged in an unusual/improper tactic. Here’s a mini tutorial on the process:
After an investigation is completed, the department head (sheriff or high ranking designee in this case) exercises his/her duty to discipline the employee. When the proposed decision becomes final after initial, internal appeals (Skelly hearing and/or grievance), the action is imposed. In this case, the employee was terminated.
The employee has the right to appeal the termination to the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Most terminations are granted a hearing. A hearing officer is then assigned to the case and hearing dates are set. The waiting game begins. Months go by…
A full hearing, including introduction of written reports, photos, videos, and live testimony happens – think court trial with somewhat relaxed rules. The hearing officer makes a decision and writes a report with conclusions of facts and law. The final determination is based on whether any or all of the alleged policy violations occurred, and if so, was the discipline imposed appropriate.
Once that process is completed, CSC reviews the hearing officer’s report (and sometimes they review the full hearing transcripts and other evidence) and votes. This vote is tentative and must be voted on again. Each side may submit additional arguments to CSC that either supports or objects to the hearing officer’s findings and recommendations.
Let’s freeze right there.
This is the last point in the process that the department head has the opportunity to amend the discipline. A settlement agreement may be reached with the employee, which may be to rescind the discipline, reduce it, grant back pay, or toss it out completely. This is where input from the department representative who conducted the hearing, in concurrence with County Counsel, comes into play. If they agree, they can withdraw the case from CSC, thus taking it out of their hands. Settlement agreements happen quite often, and there is nothing improper about it.
Assuming such an agreement is not reached, CSC (at least 4 of the 5 members is a quorum) votes. Their decision is now final and can’t be amended at the County level. Any appeal from the decision can only be heard by a Superior Court judge. This is exactly where the case stood when Sheriff Villanueva reinstated Deputy Mandoyan – a point in time that he had no jurisdiction. Deputy Mandoyan’s appeal to Superior Court could have let the CSC decision stand, remand the case back to CSC for additional actions, or rescinded it and order the county to take Deputy Mandoyan back. None of that occurred, as Deputy Mandoyan withdrew his Superior Court appeal when he was reinstated.
This is what happens when a Lieutenant is suddenly thrust into the role of department head. He was ill prepared and either poorly advised or refused to follow learned advice. It’s a steep learning curve; one that he hopefully can get past without spending another $3 million on legal fees. He seems to love his deputies and has a lot of potential. Let’s hope he steps up.
Stop with the circling of the wagons, it’s turned into a circular firing squad! You’re Not Listening!!!! Today’s press conference was an absolute disaster and you think otherwise, you’re part of the problem. Stop covering for Alex, stop with the false accolades and diverting blame to everyone but him. You are being disloyal and self serving. Who in the hell is “advising” the Sheriff. He has absolutely mishandled everything he has come in contact with from his first day. Everything has been a disaster, his relationships, or lack of, with the Board, the IG, COC, the media, the LA Democrat Party, you name it. And he blames everyone but himself. Who in the hell is he listening to, Baca? I thought at one time he could turn everything around. It’s obvious Murakami doesn’t have the backbone to control the Sheriff and his Assistant Sheriff’s, are they all asleep? Do they not have the will to speak up? Are they just along for the ride? LASD has all but been destroyed. I can’t believe Alex would be this foolish, perhaps he has an ego that is simply unmanageable. I’ve been retired for a short time, but I have lots of friends still on the job. I am told there is a highly organized and well funded recall machine that is up and running and they are coming after the Sheriff. You’re not listening, but Can You Hear Me Now?
@Dose of Reality – Appreciate your posts; a solid and accurate sharing of fact and process. This entire situation could and should have been avoided.
@ Dose of Reality: Thanks for the dosage which clearly “makes it plain” to those unaware of the the procedural process, re:Mandoyan.
Since the trial is in March of 2020, imagine the costs which are and will be…… all for naught.
@Dose of Reality good point, make sense.
I Agree, The Lt. AV doesn’t have enough experience Commanding it’s a Mess.
@You’are not listening -Appreciate your posts.
Thank you Sir, you’re completely right.
BTW, I’M LISTENING!!
@You’re not Listening turn up your hearing aides.
Enough with your nonsense. If it was easy, we’d recall every politician out there, beginning with the BOS.
Stop with your self convincing bullshit propaganda. Have you checked the criterias for a recall? Last time I Googled recall criterias for local officials, ‘Not bending over to BOS’ wasn’t one of them.
Matter of fact, AV doesn’t meet any of them. Good luck getting a million signatures, raising 3million dollars and THEN, finding deliberate meliscious acts that jeopardizes public safety and malfeasance.
Dude has been in office barely 9 months and hasn’t even begun to do his job, but has still managed to do more in 9 months then McRedface did in 4 years.
It’s obvious why AV would have so many haters; he moved and shit canned over 30 blood sucking, self serving and loathing leaches from civilian vipers to suck ass Lieutenant aides to every kiss ass chief and leg humping A/S’. We understand why you’d be upset.
Keep talking out of your ass and hoping you’d be able to come back and have your rank back as a chief. stop with your nonsense and move along in your retirement.
For your amusement.. ICE handovers are down double digits from before. Crime down across the county while LAPD areas are spiking out of control. Department is hiring at a rate it hasn’t seen in ages. People pulling their retirements to remain and work under AV. Community advisory groups reinstated once again…Resurgence of the Reseve program. Sworn and Civilian staff all love the guy….. Etc… Etc… Etc…. Haven’t seen morale this high in ages.
Yup, I’m a huge fan of the guy and admit it. I’m not only happy but ecstatic in the direction our department is moving. Everything else is just noise by the haters trying to remain relavant.
OK, now back to my 16 hr TSpot.. I would be upset if out T-bone ever went away. Matter of fact, the 96hr max needs to be raised to 120. Just my humble and greedy suggestion.
Read “Starlight Scope” post in this thread.
You’re not listening – THANK YOU. These idiots who support Villanueva are looking stupider and stupider. I’ve heard from a few VERY reliable sources the problem isn’t with his people…it’s with him. Apparently he doesn’t listen to advice….shocker.
Agreed…the press conference was horrible. He went off script and blathered about “DEPUTY” Mandoyan (violating the court order that HE said he would obey).
It’s like he’s in 2nd grade…..”You’re gonna go after my boy, DEPUTY Mandoyan? Oh yeah, well….What about THESE deputies and what THEY did? Huh? What about THEM?”
It’s always BACK to McDonnell and what HE did. No doubt he wasn’t the greatest Sheriff we’ve had, but MAN, it’s like looking back fondly on the Bush years after experiencing Trump.
Reform, Restore, REVENGE…..and now, hopefully, RECALL.
Love tuning in to Channel WitnessLA for the latest scoop and entertainment.
Villanueva is definitely derailed right now. We’ve lowered the standards for hiring so far, I quite comprehend. We follow that up with a stress free and comfortable academy.
I’m looking at the all the newly promoted and think, is this the best we have?
Honestly, I think it’s time for something different for LASD. Maybe a younger less tenured deputy. Hell if Alex can get elected anyone can. I’m being serious about a less tenured, but hopefully squared away leader. Time on and rank don’t mean experience, if you try to argue that, I know your someone that doesn’t have it.
LASD has never had a clear and free time with no issues. I see all these old timers on here talking about how there was crap hired 10-15 years ago, well guess what Sir’s I imagine there were some shitbags hired when you got on too, but often there were good ones that got in too.
Policies exist today because of many of you old timers. Back when you had no accountability. I’m not saying your all bad, but is there possibility that many could not police today based on today’s policing scrutiny. Back force was just logged in a “red book,” really are you kidding me. Who thought that would suffice?
In the last 20 years and more LASD has always had turmoil. It will never be perfect, but we could make it better. Problem is Sheriff’s become politicians, which in some aspect they have to be, but many times they go off the rails. Like now.
I worked for many great leaders, regardless of their rank. These were their traits:
1. Knowledgeable on being a street cop! Isn’t that what we all signed up to be?
2. Held all deputies accountable, when they did good and bad! Sometimes you can’t be “boys!”
3. Led from the front! I love to see a guy get out there and grind with his troops in many aspects.
4. Listened to his troops issues, but didn’t hurt give in. Deputies want everything and ask for a lot.
5. Willing to stand on the carpet when they knows something right or when someone was wronged. Give honest information regardless of rank.
These are just some, they are out there!
Wishful thinking I guess
That’s why now he’s going to pay those attorney fees on his own. County bos won’t cover that.
Don’t trip Av said he is picking up the bill on that out of pocket. He don’t need the bos to help out with that.
Brother what do expect! Lt’s are running the department.
Everyone has there opinion, and we know the old saying about those. However, let’s not go off on tangents and ignore the fact the Sheriff’s Department is still successfully chugging along, doing it’s day to functions even though many of it’s high level executives left or were asked/ordered to leave and despite the leadership of the new Sheriff. The take away, just like people found a way to do their job under the tutlege of Baca and McDonald so have then under the new Sheriff. This could be a blow to some folks shoes that in reality the ship can sail pretty will without a captain in the wheelhouse, barking orders 24/7/365.
I personally don’t see what the Sheriff has done except make some mistakes, honestly who hasn’t, and try to undo some of the damage left by past leaders. I know some low ranking Department personnel who are actually happy about going to work and supported by the feeling they have a Sheriff and leadership that are “not out to get them”, fire them or make an example of them.
Leadership starts at the top, where the tone is set. The executives then broadcast the set-tone throughout Department and supervisors beat the drum and ensure the cadence is being followed.
No wagon circling or blind loyalty. The drum beat is simply much clearer and easier to follow for the boots on the ground under the leadership of Sheriff AV.
Life in the headquarters, away from the front lines and grunt work…….well that’s another story I guess.
At least PPOA doesn’t have to say OOPS!, we made a bad decision.
According to ALADS, Sheriff Villanueva was the choice of nearly every deputy in LASD. Really?
Sure thought AV would figure out who are truly respected leaders on the department and seek/follow their advice by now. Gotta wonder why not.
Hope he starts real soon!!
Our deaortment’s reputation depends on it.
It seems as if Alex has one goal…Rehiring Carl Mandoyan.
Did Alex and Carl make a deal before Alex won the election?
Did the deal involve Carl receiving money in the form of back pay?
Why is Alex willing to flush the entire dept down the drain and waste so much money fighting for the lying creten, Carl?
Does Alex owe Carl?
TIME TO GIVE CARL HIS CAMPAINGN MONEY BACK AV AND FAMILY!!!
lol no wonder he’s fighting for Mr. reaper, av don’t want to come out……
@Propaganda, it’s not about me coming back as a Chief, I’m retired now. It’s not about the potential recall effort being successful, I know how difficult that would be and the numbers, both dollar and voters, that is not the point. The point is the Sheriff has been a disaster in relation to the political optics. Mandoyan, Mandoyan, Mandoyan. Every worthwhile media outlet, both print and television, has laid into him with a buyers remorse theme. And they are not controlled by the BOS. Slapping a criminal investigation on Mr. Huntsman and company? Whose brainchild was that? You’re telling me that someone below the rank of Assistant Sheriff came to the Sheriff and said, “We have opened a criminal investigation on these folks,” and he said, “Do it,”? And then there is Alicia Ault and her allegations, absolutely off the chart. And there is Mandoyan, Mandoyan, Mandoyan along with the sham Truth and Reconciliation review with Vera and Murakami. Firing Ray Leyva, for what? Not being a Yes Man? How did that work out in the court hearing? Did the Judge not make specific mention of Undersheriff Leyva’s warning to the Sheriff? Need I continue. It’s not about me coming back, I’m done. It’s about the irreparable damage being done to the institution of LASD. Lieutenant to Chief/AS promotions, unreal. Save your, “The troops love Alex.” The “troops loved Tanaka,” too. How did that work out? A recall effort is going to damage the Sheriff in ways he is not expecting and not prepared for, that is my point. So I ask, Who is advising the Sheriff? Who in the hell is he listening to? Either he is following bad advise, or he’s not listening to good advise. And that is not propaganda, that is reality.
Nice good for you brother…
AL: How ironic you take the name of a past Pope who did nothing about the sexual predators and member of the “Parish.” How is your hero Mr Baca? Ready for some yard time, I bet! You never obeyed the law in your life.
Incredibly the many verbal mouths via comments on WLA are silent concerning the tomfoolery of LASD.
Where is LATBG to give us some knowledge about this fiasco?
AL: How ironic you take the name of a past Pope who did nothing about the sexual predators and member of the “Parish.” How is your hero Mr Baca? Ready for some yard time, I bet! You never obeyed the law in your life.
I think you are the one not listening my friend. Mandoyan has nothing to do with the case, the BOS doesn’t give a rat’s ass about domestic violence, period. Why else would Sheila proclaim incarceration “a failed experiment,” when that is the only thing that separates victims and their families from murderers, rapists, stalkers, etc.? The BOS cares about the optics they can leverage to beat down on Sheriff V, and that’s all.
Both Ault and Leyva were fired by the current sheriff, do you expect them to say nice things in his defense? LOL, yeah, they’re really credible independent witnesses. This fight is all about protecting the political decisions of McBuckles, and keeping all those skeletons in the closet where they want them to remain. You weren’t listening when Sheriff V uncovered FOURTEEN cases like the current one, and not a peep out of the board. Some of the “optics” of these cases are horrific, but I guess it’s okay if your favorite sheriff is the one doing it.
The BOS blew $80 million on the MHTC project, and it appears it was done just to spite our sheriff. That should tell you how dedicated our worthless supervisors are to serving the public’s interest. Don’t be too alarmed, by the way, regarding the OIG investigation. Since when did the LASD stop investigating crimes committed by current or former employees?Oh wait, I forgot, that only counts when it’s your buddy driving a victor. Looks like someone forgot to tell McDonnell that part of his job is to support the independence of the office of sheriff, and not be an appointed flunkie of the BOS.
So now the BOS is suing the sheriff and the LASD, and then they’re claiming the sheriff can’t have an attorney to represent him unless it’s their own counsel! You can’t make this stuff up. Skip Miller, one of the BOS lawyers, is now representing the sheriff and suing him at the same time. It pays to read court documents now and then.
@You’re not Listening/Ray L
“Every worthwhile media outlet, both print and television, has laid into him with a buyers remorse theme. And they are not controlled by the BOS.”
That has to be one of the dumbest shit you could have said. Every snipped piece of clip that’s leaked out to the press has come from the BOS, county counsel and Brian Moronguchi. This is confirmed by my PPOA snitches, and there’s a lot of them.
Just like when you got shit canned by AV, Celeste and Maya already had an article out on your deserved firing before you were even off the HOJ property line. GTFOH Ray. You are not the Ray we worked with back in the day. You turned into a POS self serving snake in the grass and tried to sell your department out. This sentiment is shared by many as well. You can relay the same to your puppet master Brian Moronguchi. Fuck him too!
Just know this, we will always have AV’s back because he’s doing the right thing for the department we love.
Oh I hope Parra runs for sheriff. Only because I have a whole flash drive of videos, audio files and pictures of the illegal stuff he was doing as a FTO. It was handed down to me by one of his trainees that trusted me with it. He told me never to use it unless dude ran for sheriff. So I hope he starts campaigning.
Just a few thoughts from a guy who worked for five elected Sheriff’s, and 37 years on the job, sure miss it. I don’t remember any of their tenures where some type of scandal did not occur. I think we should band together and support AV and let him do his job. Sure, he’s going to make mistakes, we all have. But to bash him publicly is a display of a lack of support and loyalty to our Department and AV. If you voted, great, if you didn’t, shame on you. He’s just getting started and is bound make mistakes and/or great decisions during his tenure.
I say, give the guy a break and wait and see how this all ends up. Don’t forget, every time someone posts negative comments, anyone reading this website can see how our Department is divided. Yes, I know AV, worked with him once, and he didn’t seem to be as bad a guy as he is portrayed in the media or this website.
Enuff already, Just my take.
Actually, the number of signatures required for a RECALL is 10% of the registered voters in the county. Allowing for signatures that will be deemed ineligible, that comes to about 560-580K signatures required, not a million. Pretty doable.
As for reasons required for RECALLING the sheriff, all that’s required is a statement of 200 words or less. Something on the order of “THE SHERIFF HAS LOST THE CONFIDENCE OF THE PEOPLE HE WAS ELECTED TO SERVE,” or wording of that nature will suffice. Don’t just google it, pull up the booklet on how to RECALL an LA County elected official. It’s an easy read.
Like it or not, your pal the sheriff is vulnerable to RECALL. When it happens (not if), he will have no one to blame but himself. He exhibits all the traits of a classic narcissistic personality disorder; Nothing is ever his fault, he is never wrong, other people are the problem, not him.
It’s about time that you woke up to the reality that the sheriff is his own worst enemy. He can’t help himself. It’s the way he is wired. His core personality has been exposed. He will continue to “bunker” up with his few remaining supporters until a RECALL election pries him from office.
As far as I’m concerned, it can’t happen soon enough. His immature antics have struck a death blow to the Department’s reputation. He needs to go….now!
RECALL ALEX VILLANUEVA! It’s the sensible thing to do.
AV had his shot. AV got the breaks. AV is out of his depth. AV needs to be RECALLED.
Just read and “listen” to “You’re not listening’s” last post for a dose of reality. If you can’t listen to something that all adds up to the bottom line of what’s happened during the AV era, then you need to put in a worker’s comp claim and pack it in.
@ Esch: I pretty much agree with you on a few points, however more than not, has to agree that Villanueva appears to have some issues as the Sheriff of Los Angeles County.
The unilateral moves and his “I am Sheriff, period” has clouded the mission of LASD. Whether other’s admit it or not, Alex has a personal point to prove and it’s doing more harm than good.
BINGO * BULLSEYE * JACKPOT
@An Ear Full – Absolutely right.
I admire your loyalty and many years of service but respectfully disagree. Unfortunately, it is the Sheriff that is being disloyal to the department behind his own agenda. I agree that we all make mistakes but his errors in judgement are unacceptable for anyone in management, much less the Sheriff. He’s either surrounded by people that are giving him the world’s worst advice, or he is getting good advice and not taking it. Either way, just like everyone else, he has to own his decisions and thus far, they haven’t been good during some important moments. Hoping for better days ahead…
The folks advising the Sheriff are the Lennox Reapers that are currently holding the rank of LT and above. His beloved transition team. As far as I am concerned, He sold his soul to the devil so to speak. Has no Integrity and is a straight politician speaking out of both sides of his neck.
What man of character and principle would sacrifice his Department for 1 deputy? Is that true leadership …in our heart of hearts we all know what that is. It’s very simple. He promotes his friends to higher ranks and delays the promotion list for deputies to Sergeants. Really! what a hypocrite.
Experience, values, hard work and determination…false sense of reality. It’s still about who you know on this department.
Indeed!
Um, you should realize the overwhelming majority of people AV has promoted that he doesn’t know is far greater than the ones he does know. He’s making principle-based decisions, not political ones. Know the difference.
Blind loyalty is what enabled Tanaka, we’re not to that point yet but many are definitely on that road as history can easily repeat itself.
That mission you speak of has taken on new purpose and commitment from LASD employees who appreciate what the sheriff is doing. For those who lost something with the demise of the good ol’ boy system, where were you when things were going so bad? You were too busy being rewarded for your loyalty to notice the ruins around you. Now you want to complain when you have to earn your keep. Whah!
@ Fed up, Funny how you clamp down on those with open eyes towards AV.
With no skin in the current administration nor the last one, I encourage you to concentrate on the acts more so than the actor.
Many AV supporters are expecting some positive moves for “all involved”. You too, have to agree that “every head” can use some assistance and guidance from those who supported and elected him.
Let’s stop resorting to the last administration for comparison and excuses because of personal feelings one way or another.
I already started to lose hope in AV. A deputy I know was fired for something g he never did. No proof or compelling evidence of him doing what they claimed he did. Now the dude is terrified to go to his civil service because everyone is losing their civil services. His case is insanely strong in his favor but both him and his attorney are dreading their upcoming date.
The BOS hire the civil service commissioners. I’m sure they are telling them to deny everyone there livelihood back. The only people winning their civil service cases are those that were terminated under Baca and interim sheriff Scott. Does that not sound a little suspicious?
Listening: There’s no recall effort!!
AV should call other deps that have been fucked to testify. It’s 100s out there.
Amen My Brotha, Times Gonna come when they here the story of And 1. Folks gonna have negative ish to say, but when the department truly does you wrong and everyone knows it, it’s a different story.
Whatever dude!!!! And that’s AV’s fault? Sounds like ur friend and his attorney are BOTH idiots. Shut up with ur nonsense.
Hey ALADS Member- Its your bullshit union attorneys representing him. Learn to spell and have proper grammar dummy. Stop having your sergeants correct every bad grammar/spelling mistakes you have on your reports. Wow them for once in your life.
Skippy, UR A JOKE. Keep crying brah, im sure ur a slug, most CRY BABIES are. Like my spelling? Dummy.
Obviously Ron Hernandez has you caught up in his rhetoric. Such a blind puppy.
ALADS Member- Dont be mad. I still dont like your spelling. You still spell “you’re” like UR. Grow up and use proper spelling. Fix your run on sentences. You shouldn’t have that many commas in one sentence. Dummy.
On point “Bastard”. He who plays in a pile of trash is going to get dirty!! Damn fools!