Alex Villanueva

On Nov. 10, LA County Supervisors Will Consider Finding How to Remove Sheriff Alex Villanueva From Office

Celeste Fremon
Written by Celeste Fremon

It has finally come to this.

Los Angeles County Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl have authored a motion that aims to find out what laws and ordinances would need to be changed in order to remove an LA County Sheriff from office.

“The Sheriff’s recent actions have made it clear that reform efforts undertaken to restore public trust and confidence in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will continue to be undermined despite current public scrutiny demanding that the Sheriff do otherwise,” the supervisors wrote.

The motion — which was originally scheduled to be voted up or down on Tuesday, Oct 27, and is now continued to November 10 — asks County Counsel, plus Inspector General Max Huntsman and Acting Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport, along with several other relevant stakeholders, to come back in 30 days with “options for removing or impeaching the Los Angeles County Sheriff,” which should include “any necessary changes to the County Charter or county code to make this possible.”

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas

In some ways more significantly, the motion asks for a report back on what it would take to amend the California Constitution along with the LA County Charter in order to make the head law enforcement officer of LA County an appointed position, such as a police chief, rather than an elected one.

Both reports are supposed to be back to the board in 30 days.

The question of whether Los Angeles County is irrevocably stuck with its ever more controversy-plagued sheriff, Alex Villanueva — at least until Villanueva is up for election two years from now — came up with surprising force a little over a month ago when, on September 17, near the end of a virtual meeting of the LA County Civilian Oversight Commission (COC), commissioner Robert Bonner told the commission chairman he needed a few minutes to speak.

Then, reading from a written statement he appeared to have in front of him on his desk, Bonner called for Sheriff Villanueva to resign.

“I don’t take this step lightly,” Bonner continued in a tone that suggested the statement, and what it signified, had cost him. “I do this because it has become apparent as he has demonstrated on multiple occasions that he lacks the judgment to be the sheriff, and that he’s unable to provide the leadership needed by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.”

Bonner then listed the actions of the sheriff, which led him to the conclusion that Villanueva had to go. The LA County Sheriff’s Department deserves better, he said, “and “the men and women of the sheriff’s department deserve better.”

COC Commissioner Robert Bonner

Bonner’s statement could not itself change anything. Yet, the fact that the conservative-leaning, unusually thoughtful, former federal judge, former U.S. attorney, former head of the DEA, former head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, was the guy to say the unsayable, seemed suddenly to kick the metaphorical door open for others to consider saying it too.

Bonner’s move, which appeared even to have gobsmacked his fellow commissioners, was followed by similar statements by a couple of members of the board supervisors, along with other expressions of fading confidence in the sheriff.

Sheila Kuehl, who along with Ridley-Thomas, had called for Villanueva’s resignation, told the LA Times that Villanueva was a “rogue sheriff.”

At the next COC meeting, on October 15, the commission approved a formal resolution calling for the resignation of the sheriff.

An unhappy union

The COC resolution was expected. It was not expected however, when the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs or ALADS, the main union representing the county’s deputies, issued its own fury-drenched message on the subject to its members, which the board of supervisors also received on October 18.

October ALADS announcement, click to enlarge.

The headline of the ALADS email read as follows:

LEADERSHIP FAILURE: IF THE SHERIFF DOESN’T RESIGN HIS STAFF SHOULD

The announcement went on to talk about a “fantasy” curtailment wish list — curtailments, meaning cuts — that they’d just received, and which included, among other things, Villanueva’s insistence on “curtailing” the LASD’s Park Bureau.

It seems that before making these decisions, the sheriff and his staff did not negotiate* with the union on these curtailments that would greatly affect the lives of many deputies.

“The only thing the Department’s correspondence accomplishes,” wrote ALADS, “is a highlight of its failure to respect the bargaining process, which ultimately shows the massive confusion rampant inside the Department.”

In the following days, other people and groups joined with their own expressions of dismay.

State Senator Holly Mitchell, who is running to replace Supervisor Ridley-Thomas in LA County’s second supervisory district, appeared on Spectrum TV, applauding the supervisors for speaking out, explaining there was “a deep concern about the course of business in terms of the law enforcement organization that [Villanueva] is leading.”

Sheriff Villanueva predictably fought back. On Instagram on Oct 21,  he opened his live broadcast by calling the COC the “attack dogs of the board of supervisors,”  with whom he continues to pick fights.  Later that day, he moved over to Twitter to deliver a snarky Tweet aimed at Mitchell. And so on.

State Senator Holly Mitchell

Yet, the expressions of concern and displeasure continued to pile up. Back in August, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, which had provided one of Villanueva’s most important endorsements in November 2016, issued a formal rebuke to the sheriff who they said had violated the public trust.

“He came in with an expectation and a real optimism from his supporters that he was going to reform the department…” the author of the resolution told Jason McGahan of LA Magazine.  “And instead he’s doing favors for friends, he’s combative, he’s not transparent, and he’s focusing on all these things that he never campaigned on.”

Earlier this week, on October 23, KPCC’s Frank Stoltze tweeted that the LA Dems too were now considering joining the push for the sheriff’s resignation.

Truth and consequence

So, do any of these calls for the sheriff’s ouster matter? Well, yes and no. At least, none of them matter legally.

Eight years ago, former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca, summed up the conundrum of what to do about a problem sheriff, when he was questioned in the summer of 2012 at a public hearing held by the Citizen’s Commission on Jail Violence.

Lee Baca after federal hearing

The moment came after Lee Baca had spent much of his time in front of the commission bobbing and weaving in response to anything resembling a probing question. Finally, the commission’s lead counsel, Richard Drooyan, posed the question that was on many people’s minds.

“So, how do we hold you accountable?” asked a frustrated Drooyan.

Baca, who never tired of reminding members of the board of supervisors of his vote-getting power, paused for two long beats then smiled serenely.

“Don’t elect me,” he said.

Sheriff Villanueva has often delivered his own version of that same message.

All of which brings us back to the new Ridley-Thomas/Kuehl motion.

Elected v. appointed

Forty-six states in the U.S. elect their county sheriffs, California prominently included. On one hand, this structure should represent democracy at work. Yet, as the need for justice reform and reimagining becomes ever more pressing, urgent questions are being raised, both locally and nationally, about whether electing a county’s top law enforcement figure conveys a large amount of power without much accountability.

The matter has been up for discussion in recent years in Republican-leaning Orange County. In King County, WA, which includes Seattle, voters will decide on November 3, whether their county sheriff should now be an appointed position. There is also a growing movement to reexamine the issue in multiple other states and municipalities such as Broward County, FLA.

LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl

And now the push has arrived in earnest in Los Angeles County, home to the nation’s largest and most powerful sheriff’s department. It comes in the form of this new motion that, in order to explain what got us here, ticks off the series of strategies that the board of supervisors has tried in the past in order to promote “accountability and transparency” within the county’s primary law enforcement agency.

First there were the years of violence and corruption in the county’s jails, culminating in the indictment and conviction of at least two dozen LASD personnel. In response, in October 2012, the board created an oversight structure, consisting of the Office of Inspector General (OIG). When that didn’t feel like enough, the board created the Civilian Oversight Commission (COC) in December of 2014.

The supervisors added subpoena power for the COC in October 2019, and the efforts went on from there.

Nevertheless, write the authors, “it has become increasingly clear that the Sheriff’s blatant disregard for transparency and accountability requires a more forceful response.”

And so the motion.

“We managed to inherit the worst sheriff in recent memory,” Supervisor Ridley-Thomas told WitnessLA on Sunday evening regarding the necessity for the new motion.

“And he has precipitated what is as close to a constitutional crisis at a local level that we’ve ever seen. Therefore, we have to use executive authority, legislative authority, and judicial authority, all three branches of government, to correct what he’s doing, and ultimately create an exit path for the current sheriff.

“The board of supervisors,” Ridley-Thomas concluded, “the men and women of the LA County Sheriff’s Department, and the people of Los Angeles County have said enough.

 

UPDATE:  As you’ll notice above, after some discussion, action on the motion was postponed until November 10.


*Update and correction, 10/26/2020, 10:47 a.m. Originally we paraphrased what was said in the ALADS message to its members, and wrote that the sheriff and his staff “never so much as chatted with the union” on the curtailments mentioned. The actual language used in the ALADS message was that the “none of the information provided in that notice has been negotiated with the unions!”  Exclamation mark theirs. 

89 Comments

  • Celeste. Can you please remind us of all the organizations and “prominent” officials who endorsed Villanueva prior to his election? I think we would appreciate a reminder to all about those who erred (were duped too) and were proven to have helped this “situation” occur.
    It will help us better prepare for the next election- and hopefully not see those folks leading the voters astray.

  • Editor’s note:

    Dear Anthony Brown,

    WLA wrote a lot about Sheriff Villanueva’s strategy during the course of the election, including who endorsed him. If you search the site, you should have no trouble finding that information.

    C.

  • Ask Ron, he’ll tell you or not.

    Fortunately, Ron WILL NOT be a factor in the next Sheriff’s election. Any bets?

  • I don’t trust any politicians. If they can remove sheriff, can I remove board of supervisors. Cause as a la county resident, I haven’t felt like they’ve done anything for me either!

    Or they can be transparent too. I want to to see all their sources of income, donations, and budget (to include expenses paid by taxpayer).

    Why is it that politicians are never middle class or below. They always end up or are already rich!

  • Police Chiefs along the West Coast were largely frozen with inaction during the looting and rioting. LA City, Long Beach, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills all suffered significant damage locally during the rioting. The Sheriff’s areas went largely untouched not for the looters and rioters want of trying.

    The Sheriff took a tough stance while the political leaders in these cities dithered or worse told their police to essentially stand down. When their failures become evident they just blame their police Chief who get fired or resign.

    An elected Sheriff guaranteed the safety of areas policed by the Sheriff. If you did not notice Kuehl basically told the police to stand down. Look at her Facebook posts. The Fairfax Area, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills all got hit. They are all in her district. Yet no one has called her out.

  • @Still laughing. dun dun tadun! Stay tuned to find out!

    You guys are really great for me ego. I never realized how influential I am.

  • @Celeste, a little wild and free with your journalism.

    “It seems that before making these decisions, the sheriff and his staff never so much as chatted with the union.”

    Your implication is false.

    Our message was directed at the breakdown of the process, which they addressed, and are now continuing. We never said they never talked to us.

    This whole dog and pony show, is all drama and politics.

    If the BOS truly believes they are in touch with their constituents, and the desires of said constituents,
    then someone should organize a recall campaign.

    Some people are obsessed with power, and don’t know what to do when they realize they can’t just chop off heads, like the medieval days.

    If it was easy to get rid of duly elected people, who some might say, have failed in their leadership, there might be a few vacant Supervisor positions!

  • Straight out of the loser playbook.
    If I can’t win I’ll rewrite the playbook.
    The BOS are a bunch of losers, straight up losers.
    AV is an idiot but the BOS are much worse than him. California needs a massive overhaul at every political level. Failed state, failed policies, loser politicians.
    Good work CA.

  • I can’t wait for a constitutional amendment to pass.

    I’ll make sure to start a ballot proposal to add an Oversight committee over the Board of Supervisors and, possibly, to APPOINT the supervisors as needed.

    That’s all the precedent we need.

  • So Ron…did you and ALADS give over a million dollars to Villanueva’s campaign? Does the union, and you personally, still support the Sheriff? If so, do you believe that’s in your members’ best interest to support an elected official whose actions and methodologies have alienated those who hold the purse strings and with others who supported him in the past and have since bailed on him?

  • @RonHernandez. Imagine an emergency election changing the California constitution and allowing for an appointed Sheriff? Jim McDonnell is licking his chops waiting for his deputy head chopping machine to be taken out of storage. Do you think Villanueva should step down before that happens or take the ship and every deputy down with him. Villanueva makes McDonnell look correct when he said being sheriff isn’t an on-the-job learning position. Anxiously waiting for your response.

  • Sheriff Villanueva’s Shad-92 IOD packet and subsequent lawsuit is being crafted. That’s my prediction. He’s a lifelong victim and was never able to figure out why. Total narcissist.

  • The BOS is working to remove a democratically elected Sheriff absent any finding of gross malfeasance. As someone else suggested, the proper remedy is a recall. The BOS is not pushing that lever because they know it will fail, and rightly so. One can argue in objective terms why the Sheriff should not be re-elected; and one can similarly argue why he should be. I am in the latter group. What transcends this argument, however, is the animus of the BOS toward the Sheriff. Said animus arose weeks into his tenure, well before the purported and supposed reasons the BOS is now using as its justification for removal.

  • The Sheriff should keep his friends close but his enemies closer. Its an old saying but surely it applies in this situation.

  • @Ron Hernandez, you and our board have 30 days to determine what stance you are going to take. If the BOS is successful and is able to start appointing the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, our membership will suffer a far worse fate.

    Don’t believe me? ask LAPD.

  • Yeah, that’s not going to happen. It requires a far more subtle mind to exercise that sort of Machiavellian strategy. AV is more the type to initiate laughable criminal investigations and/or call for the same by filing baseless complaints against his enemies than keep them close. His ego prevents anything but blindly lashing out at anyone who challenges him, or that he even perceives to challenge his authority.

    A new wave of oversight and expectation of close monitoring of law enforcement is sweeping our nation. The times, they are a’changin’. AV has proven himself incapable of cooperating with these efforts. His shortsighted supporters see this and cheer. They don’t understand that resisting these efforts is not only futile, it sets us up for unnecessary conflict and the perception that we will resist all oversight efforts. The smart leaders, they see the direction of the wind and adjust their sails accordingly. AV is incapable of that, and he will now reap the consequences. He should look in the mirror to see what brought him to this point, but that will never happen. He is completely incapable of that kind of reflection.

    Assuming AV makes it to 2022, hopefully the candidate who prevails against him is someone with a bit more depth.

  • This fiasco started the day Chief of Staff Del Mease sent the undignified “don’t need your services” email to the McDonnell executives in an act of retribution. Only to be followed by the day at STARS Center the executives removed their brass in a half-baked effort to intimidate them? Remember that? Followed by the Mondoyan mess, Leyva, Olmsted, lawsuits, Kobe Bryant etc etc. What a complete train wreck this sheriff has become. So why do you want him re-elected Marangell? Let me guess, leadership, intellect, courage, knowledge, abilities. Or is it $$$? Please enlighten us on what we’re missing.

  • Short of resignation, it is doubtful anyone can stop any possible changes to the office of sheriff that the BOS can legally change and implement. Even if LT Villanueva resigns, the BOS may continue seeking any changes to County Charter or State Law to allow them to have power to appoint and or remove a sheriff based on LT Villanueva debacle.

    There has also been rumors the BOS brings back County Police and slowly removes contract cities and patrol responsibilities from LASD. LASD would only be responsible for courts, jails, and other limited responsibilities outside of contract cities/patrol duties. Sadly, this is all due to the LT Villanueva debacle.

    That “come to Jesus” moment LT Villanueva has always preached to the BOS, LT Villanueva needs to have that “come to Jesus” moment.

    LT Villanueva’s legacy may and/or will forever alter the LASD if he doesn’t.

  • Thank God. Remove him from Office and all his cronies too. It’s the same old crap different Sheriff. Angelenos county voters got duped. Where is Larry now! Hiding under a rock. Wheres Mandoyan now? How about all the LTs he promoted and bypassed experienced CPT CMNDRS N CHIEFS. What a disgrace to everyone on the department. Just pass the exam and ur good especially all his flunkies on Band 3. Geez promoted Sergeant and Lts with ESL. And you wonder why the dept is all fucked up! Bring back MCDONNELL brass buttons and all. At least he got rid of the garbage.

  • Even with the current leadership, the sheriff’s department is one of the better run county departments. The systems on the department are working. There are occasional breakdowns do to his inexperience. The Sheriff is a stubborn person and takes bad advice from in inner crew, who ever they are! However his failings do not justify removal.

    The BOS will not go after him for the budget because they will have explain their own actions in underfunding the Department. Inexperience is also not a reason to remove a Sheriff. Unless he does something illegal, he will not be removed.

    Many counties like their sheriff and will likely not support a change to the constitution.

    2022 is not that far off…. I hear there will be plenty of challengers to AV. I am excited about a couple of the names I have heard. The Sheriff’s Department is not one person. It survived Baca and McDonnell. It will survive AV.

  • Seeking, I have some bad news for you. The Department will not survive the tremendous damage AV has already caused through his actions and poor decision making. The SS VILLAN- ueva is sinking and it is taking LASD with it.

  • The biggest mistake Alex made was embracing two Tanaka worshipers, Del Meese and Vera and placing them into positions of responsibility. Those two manipulated the Sheriff, acted like jackbooted thugs and began building their own Tanaka style secret inner circle. They kept pumping Alex with their own blend of self serving bullshit, “guiding” him to promote their servants and were never loyal to the Sheriff, only to themselves. Then Alex started down the road of no return with Mandoyan. Murakami destroyed every bit of credibility he had with anyone with his involvement in the laughable Truth and Reconciliation Committee. Alex destroyed himself behind Mandoyan and the question has been raised repeatedly, what did Carl have on Alex? Alex fired Ray Leyva as his Undersheriff because Ray had the audacity to tell Alex not to do certain things because they were wrong, or unwise. Ray was completely against reinstating Mandoyan and paid the price while DM and Vera were high fiving each other for assassinating him. Olmsted tried to talk sense to Alex but would not listen. Olmsted threw up his hands and essentially stayed in his office for nine months, riding out his contract. DM and Vera were dancing in the street because they eliminated Olmsted and enhanced their power base. Maria wisely threw in the towel because Alex would not listen to her or anyone other than Mutt and Jeff, so she quit. DM saw the opportunity and pushed for promoting a zero experience Lieutenant to Assistant Sheriff because of his, let’s say, “close relationship” with her. The ultimate “Yes Man” elevated to Undersheriff, the Tanaka style “I don’t work for you,” statements to the BOS, IG and COC were pure stupidity and put him where he is today. And class, we just scratched the surface. None of this should have happened. Watch for Leyva in the future.

  • I think you underestimate the appetite for change in law enforcement in today’s climate.

    Not sure what axe you have to grind against McDonnell, but mentioning the Department surviving “him” in the same breath you mention Baca (and thus Tanaka) is incredibly poor judgment. There is simply no comparison to the damage done by Baca.

    Of course the Department will survive the reign of any one individual. Any government entity as massive as the Department simply can’t be allowed to fail. The question is more along the lines of what damage is AV doing to the Department in terms of public perception and corresponding willingness by the average citizen to give deputies the benefit of the doubt in multiple circumstances, including criminal and civil court, as well as everyday interactions.

    I personally think AV is making the average deputies job much harder than it has to be. You won’t hear them complain because they have more comfortable uniforms and are less likely to face admin consequences than under past administrations. But that doesn’t mean he’s doing right by them. And certainly not by the public. What you call stubbornness I call an out-of-control ego and immaturity that causes way too much friction between our Department and the public. I don’t think AV’s full measure of damage in that regard will be known until he’s been out of office for some time and the files have been open for a thorough review. There is a reason he’s so reluctant to let anyone take a look.

  • If Leyva runs for Sheriff He’s the biggest fraud ever. He’s too disabled to work as a commander but can come back as Sheriff. Lives his life tax free on the backs of American taxpayers. He’s currently double dipping at probation which is disgraceful enough. Stay retired Leyva. Do yourself and all of us a favor. Talk about no charisma or leadership. He sued his way to commander. You know, discrimination blah blah blah.

  • Some things to think about…..

    The population of Los Angeles County alone would place it tenth in population behind only the states of California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina. It is even larger, geographically (land area: 4,058 square miles), than the states of Rhode Island land area: (1,212 square miles; pop: 1.1 million).

    Think about that for a moment…. the County is larger than most states yet how many states are run by FIVE people? They’ve been called the five Kings for decades and for good reason.

    All that power apparently isn’t enough for the five Kings (more like four because MRT is out next week) so they would like to overturn the will of the voters in Los Angeles county even if it means sponsorship of a state constitutional amendment to turn the Sheriff into an appointed position.

    Regardless of how you feel about the Sheriff who really thinks the BOS will do a better job than an (or ANY) elected Sheriff? Watch what you wish for my fellow deputies. To the Unions who represent us do you really believe that you’ll be able negotiate better for us dealing with the BOS?

    One need only look at what happened in Santa Monica where their appointed chief recently ‘stepped aside’. Apparently she was accused of not protecting area shops during the recent rioting. We all know if she had been more aggressive the complaints would have been from the activists that she was too hard on the poor protestors and looters who were merely trying to ‘express themselves’.

    Before any of you support this absurd power grab remember it’s forever not just for the current sheriff.

    On Sheriff Villanueva….

    First a disclosure—I’m not a department executive. Im an ALADS member but I hold no union position. And, prior to his election I had never heard of the current sheriff. I’m not a Baca, Tanaka or McDonnell guy I’m an LASD guy.

    The sheriff has been accused of obstructing reforms, undoing ‘progress’ made by the previous administration and not being transparent. Let’s unpack each.

    The missteps early on with Mandoyan were certainly regrettable but despite what’s been said there has, from what I can tell, been no wholesale rehiring of previously terminated employees. In fact the only cases I’ve heard of are when the CSC has ordered someone reinstated. Yet two years in and not a single story comes out without mention of Mandoyan. If all of these other people have been rehired why not write about them?

    What about all the IAB cases that were deactivated? To most anyone who was paying attention during McDonnell’s tenure it was no secret that, under the watchful eye of Diana Teran the unofficial policy was ‘fire them and let them get their jobs back through civil service’. All the Sheroff did was ask his command staff to take a look at current investigations started in the Teran days to see if they had merit. Cases are still being opened, deputies are still being held accountable which even includes termination.

    What’s not happening is over 40% of civil service cases getting kicked back with reduced (or no) discipline as was the case from the McDonell days. Think about that. If 40% of the cases I filed were rejected by the DA or resulted in charges far less than I filed most would question my skills as an investigator. All AV has done is get out out of control discipline system back to center.

    Quick note on Teran. If you look at transparent California you’ll notice that before she created her own position of Constitutional Policing Adviser working as a Sheriff’s employee she was a county counsel attorney assigned TO the department as a Constitutional Policing Advisor making around 100K a year. By the time she left she secured herself a position with the department doing the EXACT same job. Her pay and benefits had risen 270% including County car and ‘Megs Flex’ )whatever the hell that is).

    Is the Sheriff really ‘obstructing’ reforms or has he decided that there will NEVER be a day when Max Huntsman will ever have anything nice to say about the department. His entire job is to pick at us for any little thing and if you’ve ever read any of his reports you may notice a slight bias against us no matter what we do.

    First he wrote a report that the department wasn’t releasing reports under SB-1421. The department apparently reassigned a small army of people including sergeants to clear up the backlog. As they did so I noticed that they even created a website with all the released reports on DIS, force etc. what did Huntsman say? In his second report he mentioned the website but complained that not enough records were on there yet. He even falsely claimed that since the department has X DIS cases they all should be on the website when SB-1421 only requires release of information when someone requests it and even then I looked at the statute and there’s not even a requirement that the department post the stuff on the Internet.

    There’s a difference between not kissing the OIG’s ass knowing that no matter what you do their reports are just going to slam you vs being transparent to the public.

    The COC got all upset that the Sheriff didn’t show up in response to a subpoena. Sounds serious until I read that the questions they wanted to ask were about the jails and COVID. The Sheriff who was apparently dealing with other aspects of the pandemic and civil unrest instead sent the best SME the COC could ask for…. the Assistant Sheriff in charge of—you guessed it—Custody Operations.

    Is the Sheriff perfect? Hell no. But I’d rather work for a Sheriff who hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to work the line vs one that had Diana Teran terminating people right and left so he could focus on making sure I spent a few hours of my day driving to logistics to get my dam chrome snaps exchanged for brass ones or spent tens of thousands on replacing every decal on the card because there was a capital ‘O’ instead of a lower case one in ‘Tradition of Service’.

    One final thought about the ‘Gangs’. That BOS Rand survey was insulting. When I went to college and joined a fraternity why wasn’t that considered a ‘clique’ or sub group? When my sons who served in the army got tats representing the units they were in why were they not considered members of an ‘army subgroup or clique’? I can’t speak for anyone but myself but who amongst is actually starts their shift hoping to get in a shooting just so they can get a station tattoo? Who amongst us seriously believe (as Max Huntsman said) that East LA station is run by a group of 30 deputies?

    Regardless of how you feel about the Sheriff I submit that the real concern for us is the BOS, OIG and COC.

  • @CircleJerk, “he sued his way to commander, discrimination etc.” Villanueva is the poster child for suing the Department and living off tax payers backs.
    FYI the real reason Vera, Haselrig, and Hellmold are in the position as Chief’s is because they helped him get votes. Just like station Deputy Rom, Vera was at Villanueva’s election night after party with a cheek to cheek smile on his face.
    All these names were cleared by A/S Bibi and Mandoyan.

  • Cleared by Mandoyan?? Ludicrous. Mandoyan’s good ol ride-along mentor from Lennox days past (now a lieutenant at SEB) introduced Creepy to Vera.. and that’s how a future Sheriff from East Los came to use him as a driver after the primary.

    A failed wager destitute of vision, with a negative return on investment. Carl’s head grew too big for his even his “mentor” after snuggling up with the Co-Sheriff & Co. No honor among thieves.

  • What is done is done. Politicians lining their pockets for retirement. Nothing new at the LASD. All those old heads used their power to promote the CAR.
    Those who saw the writing on the wall bailed under duress or innuendo. They were smart. Law enforcement will never be like it was in the 70s or 80s. Keep on truckin boys. Defund the police is alive and well. That’s what we all need to worry about.

  • Folks, this is much ado about nothing. AV is not going to be thrown out of office by folks that were elected by 1/5 the voters that elected him. They have no such authority. And there will be no recall vote, either. They need to quit stamping their little feet and give up on their tantrum. AV needs to meet them half way and make the people his priority. The Mandoyan issue is now moot and needs to be forgotten.

  • Dose, do you think if the elections for Sheriff were held on the 3rd of Nov would Villanueva receive even 1/3 of the votes he received when he was elected. …. I thought so.

  • “The Mandoyan issue is now moot and needs to be forgotten.”

    Really?

    I seem to recall AV crying about how the BOS were fighting him on reinstating Mandoyan, and all the money it was unnecessarily costing taxpayers.

    Here we are, many months and millions of dollars later, and it turns out, the Board was right, AV was wrong. So…who cost the County over $3 million? Who hired the incredibly over-priced attorneys at $1120/hour in a “tantrum” because he couldn’t handle the BOS telling him no, you’re not free to hire someone fired by the County just because you appreciate the work and money they donated to your campaign? A couple lines from an ABC7 article on this subject:

    “Mandoyan was described as a key aide and personal driver for Villanueva, spending hours on the road together, driving from event to event. Campaign election records show several people with the last name Mandoyan first donated to rival Bob Lindsey’s campaign for sheriff. After Lindsey was defeated in the primary, two of them also donated to Villanueva’s campaign.”

    So, with that as a background, let’s not forget AV saying about this whole fiasco, “I had it solved for $200,000.”

    That’s $200,000 that was going to be paid in a settlement to AV’s buddy, when it turns out not a dime should have been paid to him, because he should never have been rehired.

    And, as the judge said, the sheriff had no authority to enter into that settlement. ““No statute grants the Sheriff the authority to control litigation or enter into settlement agreements on behalf of the County,” Beckloff wrote.”

    Let that sink in for a moment. AV tried to push through a settlement giving $200,000 to his campaign buddy, and give him back a job worth many times that amount, when he had no authority to do any of that. Then, he cost taxpayers millions of dollars fighting on behalf of his buddy.

    Forget about Mandoyan? I’m sure that’s exactly what AV would like. It’s an anchor around his neck that any candidate running against him will be happy to bring up over and over. And he’s providing all the ammunition himself. Talk about a self-inflicted wound. I don’t think forgetting is in the cards.

  • “Who hired the…attorneys at $1120/hour….”

    Don’t forget: attorneys charge that much when they think they can’t win the case but still want to get paid for their efforts.

    Were it a slam-dunk case & the client (AV) “was right” many attorneys would’ve gone contingency, meaning attorney’s fees aren’t paid until after the case is won.

  • One more thing to think about: every level of government has three separate branches

    1. Executive. Mayors, Governors, the President.
    2. Legislative. City Council, the State Legislature, the U.S. Congress.
    3. Judicial.

    except the County level–there, the Executive and Legislative branches are combined into the Board of Supervisors.

    Personally, I think things would go better if we let the Board of Supervisors

    Supervise.

  • No voter cares about internal departmental drama, hence the Mandoyan issue. I agree with Dose, it’s definitely a moot issue. I’ve read the report myself. Mandoyan was screwed royally from the onset, then became a victim of circumstance when he helped AV win the election. The main point is, no executive was in favor of discharge. None, not the A/S, the Chief or the Advocacy Lt. If Mandoyan is all you guys are hanging your hats on, you need to pack your bags and go home. AV did the right thing for someone who was railroaded by the McDonnell hit squad especially the most evil, cop hating bitch Teran. I’m glad she and Max are under investigation. Matter of fact, I recently heard that Max, Teran, et all are going to get filed on very soon. The dynamics are changing, especially with MRT not getting the votes he needed for his absurd motion.

    You guys are definitely underestimating AV.

    Max should focus on finding a criminal defense lawyer instead of posting here on WLA. Max, your own staff told me that’s all you do.

  • Really,

    Go ahead and dwell on the Mandoyan issue if you choose. My point is that it is now settled. Move on to the next issue.

  • All of this “in-dept gotcha analysis of the smoking gun fired toward the glassy knoll is tiresome” and indictive of a personalized, targeting hit campaign. Nothing more, nothing less. How many “alleged” high up officials within the LA County bureacy have alleged that the Big, Bad Sheriff Alex Villanueva has either threatened, intimated, harrased or committed some other pie in the sky, far out act of maleficence? Allegedly the Sheriff commits all these “high crimes and misdemeanors” yet there is no evidence or “there…there” presented that rises to the level of judicial muster as no criminal charges have ever been filed against him? Why? Max Huntsman, other high placed county official, Sachi Hami, Hilda Solis….ACLU…..Buehler? No charges being presented on a local, state or Federal level? The reason, it’s all “bull crap” with a “B”. It’s reminiscent of the Russia collusion connection alleged against President Trump soon after he took office. A lot of media hack pontificating, political grandstanding theater and tens of millions in Tax Payer dollars wasted with nothing to show for it but the hope it would plant a tainted seed of distrust in the minds of the voters. This is so transparent as a power plant/grab by the BOS, supported by this site and other far left wing “local and Bay Area wealthy donars” intent of on reimaginning (in the same vein as “Justice Involved”) Los Angeles in the image of San Francisco and the Northern California political cabal its not even funny. It’s so ridiculous that because there is no Republican foe to vanquish you then even turn on your own. Reminiscent of the “Tea Party” tactics.

    Rich!!!

  • “No charges being presented on a local, state or Federal level?”

    Not sure that a defender of AV’s wants to bring this up. No one has suggested he has committed crimes. On the other hand, AV himself seems a bit hair-trigger on making that accusation himself. He and his spokesfolks on this site have been promising criminal charges against his perceived enemies for many months. One of his pennames was making that promise on this very site within weeks of his election. “You’ll see! You’ll all see! The indictments are coming!”

    It’s been a couple years now, Hunstman, Teran, Hamai…no one’s gotten criminal charges filed against them, and they’re not going to. AV just makes himself look ridiculous citing obscure statutes that he hasn’t even researched and about which he doesn’t even possess a basic understanding. Maybe if he maintained better ties with County Counsel he could get sound legal advice before making his baseless accusations.

    The thought that the attorney in charge of the agency tasked with monitoring LASD should be filed on for “unlawfully possessing” Department records?

    Rich!!!

  • Less than 60 seconds worth of an internet search.

    “United Way is led by a volunteer board chair, who oversees a volunteer board of directors.“

    But LT Villanueva alleges Hamai committed a felony crime because he THOUGHT her United Way position was paid. That simple internet search proves LT Villanueva has ZERO evidence Hamai received any funds from United Way.

    There is a reason he was an inept deputy throughout his career.

  • ….and the BOS paid Sachi Hami $1.5 million dollars and life time security detail in her way out the door because Sheriff Villanueva “harrased and threatened her”. This is avfsct. If these allegations were true I’m sure this site, the media outlets, COC, etc. al, would be shouting this to the heavens as their “smoking gun” to get rid of the Sheriff. Evidently the BOS felt there was enough truth to her allegations to settle but didn’t feel criminal charges were warranted? I highly doubt the BOS took the position this was in this case “in the best interests of the LA County Taxpayers” either. If all this was true, the BOS had the perfect opportunity to cause Sheriff Villanueva as much pain and suffering possible.

    Again, it’s all about egos and control and that little boy, Supervisor Kuehl being upset that the Sheriff does wears “mens pants” unlike the big boy pants she does.

  • T&B, LT Villanueva was responsible for purchasing toilet paper at STARS. As a Sergeant it was his sole responsibility. That was the best possible way to keep him from being a hazard to himself and others.

  • “and that little boy, Supervisor Kuehl…”

    I get it. Her appearance isn’t stereotypically feminine, therefore, you refer to her as the opposite gender.

    Stay classy, Conspiracy.

  • @Dose,

    As Really? stated, “I don’t think forgetting is in the cards.” Just ask your buddy Alejandro about that. He is always bringing up his woes with the Baca administration as he plays his victim card over and over again. What goes around comes around in the AV Clown Circus act.

    The old “move along, nothing to see here folks” won’t work on the Creepy Carl fiasco. It’s almost like a gruesome crash scene. The pictures have been taken and they will be shown again during the next campaign.

    #WorstSheriffEver
    #RecallSheriffV
    #ResignSheriffV
    #ShamefulSheriffV
    #1TermSheriffV
    #AdiosAlex

  • Supervisor Shiela Kuehl has been spanking that Lt. Alex @$$ ever since he tried to front her off when he first stole the office. She is much smarter than both Alejandro and his Sweet Pea and she is in tight with all of the major employee unions in L.A. County. Not even little Ronald will be able to salvage Alex after his failed one term in office. The only question left to be answered is, how far down into the mud will Alex drag the once professional and respected LASD?

    #WorstSheriffEver
    #RecallSheriffV
    #ResignSheriffV
    #ShamefulSheriffV
    #1TermSheriffV
    #AdiosAlex

  • Conspiracy, aka Alex did you talk about that “little boy” at the ELA Bandido beatdown Christmas Party. Just asking for a friend.

  • @AV Clown Show. I love how you use “little Ronald,” as if if it’s news that I’m short.

    The Ronald part does give me chills though, because that’s what my Mom would yell when I was in trouble.

    Wait,,,,,,,Mom, is that you?

  • Oh Rom, how were the drinks in the VIP section at Villanueva’s election night party. I have some wonderful pictures of you upstairs. You know the rest…
    Like Mr. T would say ” I pity the fool”.

  • @Juan Carlos, that only works when someone denies something or is fearful of being exposed.

    Feel free to share the pictures. What’s your point?

    Who exactly should I worry about seeing them?

  • “I do this because it has become apparent as he has demonstrated on multiple occasions that he lacks the judgment to be the sheriff, and that he’s unable to provide the leadership needed by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_C._Bonner

    Hard to believe Alejandro Villanueva would pick a fight with a heavyweight like Bonner. It’s bad enough he’s pissed off a majority of the board with his silly immature antics. McDonnell told us Alex was not ready for prime time and the proof has been over $6 million in payouts so far. Alejandro Villanueva should be made to pay out these settlements himself. Not the taxpayers who voted for him thinking he was an agent of change.

    Word-up to the Board. Alejandro Villanueva acts like a jerk every opportunity he gets. Remember you control the purse strings for the county. Start refusing to pay these settlements.

  • HMM…..”Hard to believe Alejandro Villanueva would pick a fight with a heavyweight like Bonner.” A retired judge has what power? Who actually enforces the law and fights the wars? Not the men/women in black coats or business suits. If the judge orders something he’s dependent on a law enforcement agency to enforce said order. Once their is a lack of confidence in the system, or person giving that order then what? We are there, who will enforce said “order”. Just like the state of California continuously fights to ignore, work around and usurp Federal laws. All the contempt of court, orders and warrants in the world can be issued but if there is no one actually willing to enforce that order??? Take note of events that played out in Oregon when several Sheriff’s and the head of their stste police told the Governor in not so frank terms to basically f*#k off.

    No, I don’t think the Sheriff is shaking in his boots over the opinions of a retired judge as he has real work to do. He’s busy dealing with civil unrest, fires and trying to keep the citizens of LA County Safe. What is the BOS and COC doing???

  • ” there is a lack of confidence in the system” Conspiracy.. yes you are absolutely right. There is tremendous lack of confidence in VILLANeuva and LASD under the leadership of VILLAN

  • You’re quite the celebrity with cheek to cheek photos of you & McDonnell, now with Alex. What a stud! Lol

  • What happened to the repeal process? Isn’t that the most Democratic option? Heck, we did it with a governor! Remember Pete Wilson? As for ALADS, a public law enforcement union, so they changed their minds from working to oust McConnel and elect this guy? Hmmm.

    Bargaining contracts are about as legal a contract as you can get, especially since it’s public funds (our tax dollars) that pay the Sheriff’s’ salaries. Why isn’t the union taking these alleged violations of their contract to court and suing the Sheriff and his executive administration for violating the bargaining agreement? As essential law enforcement, for the public’s safety, doubt they can strike, like teachers unions to get their way.

    I worked at the County Board of Supes as a staffer for 20 years. Giving the power to the 5 Supes to appoint the Sheriff makes me nervous. Will elected Supervisors have even more incentive to appoint those candidates who donated to their own campaigns? Public Union monies and their endorsements are already big influencers in electing DA’s, Mayors, Governors, Presidents, even Supervisors. How about we vote specifically on term limiting our County Sheriff? I know when voters voted to term limit Supervisors and other County Elected Offices, the Sheriff challenged that in court, and was exempted. Not sure the exact reason, but couldn’t it be done legally, just not tied to other elected offices? Police Chiefs are appointed by term-limited mayors, so that’s kind of built into their tenures.

    McConnel was a good Sheriff, cleaning up the Department after Baca’s era of corruption. His stance on ICE seemed nuanced, but was not on paper much to my liking, and that’s why suckers like me voted for this incompetent. Voters need to be smarter.

  • Recall, not repeal. This extra hour of sleep is already screwing w my syncretic rhythms!

  • “How about we vote specifically on term limiting our County Sheriff?”

    That issue was considered back in November 19, 2004, and this is what happened

    https://www.jones-mayer.com/news/2004/11/19/term-limits-and-the-county-sheriff

    The good folks who are fielding a candidate against D.A. Lacey dislike our Sheriff even more than they do Lacey; that probably means that they’ll likewise field a candidate against our Sheriff in the upcoming election two years hence….

  • Susan,

    You have another major issue with your statement: Pete Wilson was not recalled. You might be thinking of Gray Davis, who was recalled for breaking his no new taxes promise. He was then replaced by the Governator, who made the same promised and also broke it.

  • You are correct, apologies, I have Pete Wilson on the mind, prop 16 stuff, it was Grey. I support voters rights on this, so suggest the recall process as the less convoluted one, and less onerous of the other options of not voting at all, be a first and last recourse because it is the voters who would decide.
    Thank you, it’s simple and complicated at the same time, again, voters need to be able to inoculate themselves from falling for deeply politicized panaceas, we’ve seen this kind of arrogant, cultish shallow incompetence before, fanned by a deeply flawed, possibly non-existent, character. Maybe what the voters decide in 2’days on the national stage will put service to the people back at the podium of Democracy. And send a message? Who knows.

  • I agree with the BOS wants total control of everything, if they appoint a Sheriff, what’s next appoint the D.A., JUDGES etc,,,,,bullshit,,,they are useless

  • @ Susan P. Nissman
    You called it correctly concerning the unions (ALADS & PPOA) who only acquiesces the Sheriff concerning the bargaining agreements.

    You also nailed it, exposing ALADS for pulling the hair trigger on McDonnell only to fall on their face after they emptied their treasure chest to prop up Villeneuva.

    Interesting that you don’t have to be a Cop to see the realness.

  • Rak, you missed the bottom picture of the link. Now you know why Villanueva’s favorite Honey D****r the Lil Dreamer aka Captain Burcher stays around.
    If Trump is out of the picture, then my my…. where would ALADS send all the bogey man Post Cards scaring the Latino Community.

  • “If Trump is out of the picture….’

    Incoming vote results indicate that Trump/ICE will be outta the picture in the upcoming Sheriff’s election two years hence. In the picture will be

    https://ktla.com/news/local-news/2020-election-results-for-los-angeles-city-and-county-local-races/

    1. George Gascon will be the next D.A.
    2. Holly Mitchell is winning by something like 61% of the vote; she campaigned against A.V.

    The folks who fielded Gascon as a candidate against Lacey are also perturbed by A.V….

  • The same LA County voters that gave us the diaster of a Sheriff name Alejandro Villanueva just doubled down and gave us Gascon as D.A. LA County is now officially run by 5150’s.

  • Eric Garcetti endorsing Gascon is no different than Ron Hernandez endorsing Villanueva, go figure.

  • Gascon winning is a good thing for LA County law enforcement. It means less prosecution of criminals, especially cops, since fewer arrests will results which will leed to cops taking less risk or putting themselves in situations that could lead to them being the “the next top story”.

    Go sit in a back parking lot or hang out at the station, no proactive efforts, no longer responding to mental health, under the influence or domestic calls since the unarmed responder force handles those…just sit back and enjoy the newly “reimagined LA County”. Just do what the voters want…Nothing. You can’t be “justice involved” if the justice system never intervenes or interjects itself into the situation to begin with or involves itself with you. The BOS said crime is down and used thus as an excuse to fire employees, the message is clear don’t arrest people and take them to jail.

    Ah yes…all the comments above are a moot point. I think Sheriff AV and his personnel will power down now… It’s what the voters wanted.

  • Interesting that Gascon resigned (not retired) from his position as San Francisco District Attorney, came down to Los Angeles County, and beat the sitting D.A. by something like an 8% margin (see my link for final vote totals).

    The people who fielded Gascon: what, I wonder, do they have in mind for AV?

    I wonder.

  • Many would have thought that ALADS & LAPPL would have kicked in a lot more dinero to help out the D.A. race.

    I do believe that name recognition weighed heavily in the outcome considering the demographics in Los Angeles County.

  • What are homeless guys going to do with skateboards besides clucking them off for drug money?

    That banner behind the sheriff may have well as read “Run from the cops, it’s ok.”

  • LT Villanueva’s legacy will forever be known as the “sheriff” who destroyed LASD from within.

    BOS is going to slowly dismantle LASD from serving contract cities and replace with County Police. Funding removed removed from LASD will be used to re-establish County Police. LASD will be left with Custody, Court Services, and any other responsibilities governed by a sheriff according to law.

    “Other possibilities to be considered include pulling some of Villanueva’s responsibilities and appointing a county police chief.”

    https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/la-county-board-of-supervisors-to-reconsider-options-to-remove-sheriff/2457315/?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_LABrand&amp&__twitter_impression=true

  • Nice legacy Alex. Sweat Pea must be so proud.

    #WorstSheriffEver
    #RecallSheriffV
    #ResignSheriffV
    #ShamefulSheriffV
    #1TermSheriffV
    #AdiosAlex

  • My family has been ripped out of my hands. With no evidence what so ever. Police everywhere but justice nowhere

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