Alex Villanueva Community & Justice

WitnessLA on KCRW’s “Greater LA” With Steve Chiotakis Talking About The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

Celeste Fremon
Written by Celeste Fremon

Steve Chiotakis, host of KCRW’s “Greater LA.”

WitnessLA was on KCRW’s GreaterLA with host Steve Chiotakis on Monday, June 29, to talk with Steve about various issues pertaining to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department such as budget-cutting, two recent LASD shootings that have troubled LA County residents, body cameras, civilian oversight, and more — including the ongoing subpoena issue.

Here’s the LASD segment if you’d like to check it out.

74 Comments

  • Celest,

    Did you include the play-by-play smack down that the Board of Supervisors are handing to lil Alex for his childlike public temper tantrums?

    Hey Allie, how’s that “I’ll show the BOS & CEO who’s the countywide elected boss“ crap working out for you?

    Yo AV’s fearless cheerleaders, Alex is really showing those politicians what’s up. Just like Pitchess and Block used to do back in Da Day. NOT!

    They just bent lil Alex over their collective knee and whupped Dat @$$ to the tune of millions and millions. All of the poor new promotees that Allie tried to promote when he was told to stand down. I guess they will be acting with no increase in pay for quite awhile now. But that’s okay, they can boost “morale” for Alex’s leadership strategy by CARPing every other day.

    Viva VILLANueva. Que the Titanic music: https://youtu.be/F2RnxZnubCM

  • @Clown Show-I really dont mind a pay raise at all. I will take better morale over all. Last dick weed we had made coming to work miserable. Pull someone over for running a red light. The driver is late to work and upset. They file a complaint on you later because you made them late to work. Get a PLE for doing your job. Yeah…it was like that everywhere.

  • That “countywide elected boss” thing unquestionably worked for Sheriff Block, but not for anybody since. He was a powerful and respected man – AV not so much.

    I was on the give AV time to settle in and find his way team at the outset, but I think his refusal to take advice from demonstrably more learned executives (whose careers hadn’t stopped at watch commander) has damaged his administration beyond repair. Placing trusted buddies in positions far above their capabilities is a losing strategy he is feeling the affects of now. Too bad the rest of LASD has to suffer along with him, especially in these manufactured, trying times.

  • @anonymous
    Don’t waste your time with AV Clown show. Sad that a retiree or should I say forced out executive would come on and be so excited that LASD is losing units and positions, regardless whose fault it is. Tell you what Clown Show, since you are so great; why don’t you run for sheriff. Tell us who you are and maybe we will start campaigning for you now. Oh wait, you won’t, it’s easier to just complain. Loser

  • They are called “Skippers” and they are just holding out a little longer to cash in during the March retirement season. Magoorakami will be at the front of the line. Cha Ching!

  • @Sour D,

    You little Alex @$$ kissers are almost as pathetic as your failing leader. Observing Allie & BiBi destroy the LASD through their complete incompetence is painful to watch. They only pleasure I get in watching this train wreck is the fact that it guarantees that he will be a “1 Term Disaster.”

    I cant wait for 2022. The next Sheriff will truly have to Rebuild, Reform & Restore the LASD from AV’s ruins to greatness again. That wont include special seating for Banditos or the rehiring of Creepy Carl. You can enjoy Deez Nutz for now!

  • Shows what a true weak ass you are. I didn’t vote for Alex and I’m not a Alex sympathizer. But I also don’t like Jack asses like you who take joy in the department failing. So you can take your baby nuts and go enjoy your chief retirement. As far creepy Carl, I agree with you on that but that’s about it. Your still a loser

  • LOL…… luv ya man! Now go redeem your Villanueva social media defense voucher credits. Maybe you can use them to win a “get out of CARPing“ pass. 😉

  • There are no racist cops just bad criminals who must be dealt with ……….. Oops never mind ………..

    *******************
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/25/wilmington-racist-police-recording/

    Sitting in his patrol car in Wilmington, N.C., Officer Michael “Kevin” Piner predicted Black Lives Matter protests would soon lead to civil war. “I’m ready,” Piner told another officer, adding that he planned to buy an assault rifle.

    “We are just going to go out and start slaughtering them fuc—- nigg—–,” he said.

    The shocking threat came amid extended, openly racist conversations between Piner, 44, and two other police officers, 50-year-old Cpl. Jesse E. Moore II, and 48-year-old Officer James “Brian” Gilmore. In the discussions, taped by accident on a patrol car camera and released Wednesday by the department, the men freely drop racial slurs, suggest killing black residents and deride protesters.

    “Wipe ’em off the f—— map,” Piner said of African Americans. “That’ll put ’em back about four or five generations.”

  • I thinks it’s terrible to have racism, rejudice and descriminstiin in any field. However let’s not be naive to believe it’s only relegated to law enforcement within the judicial system. There are and will continue to be racism and prejudice in society which is were police officers are drawn from. No changing that ever.

    What is the answer you say? The CHOMP experiment going in Seattle is a nice example of what society would devolve into without a police force. Chicago is an example of a big city what strict gun control laws and example of what happens when a police force takes a hands off approach. New York and California are examples when the legislature take it upon themselves to force feed social engineering via over reaching “legislative judicial activism”. Crime with little to no punishment where the “judicial system” victimizes society over and over again. A system were reality and naive idealism are juxtaposed. It will be interesting to see how things turn out in the shit show which is Minneapolis where the geniuses on the city council voted unanimously to disband the police force and instead hire a private security firm. I’m eager to see how that turns out for them.

    There’s are racist politicians, doctors, journalist, bus drivers, teachers, professors, judges and computer programmers. There are racist hetero sexual and LGBTQX folks. There are racist black, white, Hispanic and Asian people. There are racist young, middle aged and old people. There are racist poor, middle class and rich people. The real kicker, there are racist liberals, socialist, communist and conservatives. It’s a complicated issue that’s never going away.

    Remember our history, educate our young people to avoid the mistakes of the past versus wiping away all memories of it. The Jews and Armeniabs never let anyone forget the genocides which are part of their history…..hell it’s not even American history at that. They clearly aren’t trying to erase the past from existence so the world forgets about. To know it is to learn from it.

  • Dose, the lack of vision and clarity, made worse by his failed leadership, is destroying the Department. But Villanueva has responded with little concern and repeated calls to stop his “self-destructing” behavior. The problem is that Villanueva’s instincts are more likely to make him double down on the divisiveness, anger and pettiness. Look at his tantrums on twitter & Instagram. He just cannot play nice in the sand with others.

  • Good f’ing GAWD! Celeste, do you ever listen to yourself? Please, for ONCE, stop making excuses for criminals. Guardado was an “unofficial security guard?” Call it was it is…he was working ILLEGALLY as a security guard. And you say, “There didn’t seem to be ANY reason on EARTH why this kid would end up dead.”

    He WASN’T a “kid” (he was 18) and as for reasons, perhaps the illegal ghost gun with an illegal extended magazine combined with his running and WHO KNOWS what else had something to do with his death.

    And your evidence for doubting the Deputies is, “It just FEELS bad…for everyone that heard about it.”

    Then you go on to talk about Terron Jammal Boone who you say, “had gone off the rails” and committed kidnapping, spousal assault and assault with a deadly weapon. You say, “In any case, he didn’t deserve to die for that….” Really? Did he deserve to die for shooting at deputies ON TOP of those crimes?

    Of course, you criticize the LAPD for how they handled the recent peaceful riots but neglect to say that NO ONE was killed, unlike the 92 riots where 62 people were killed. Gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets hurt, but are incredibly effective and NON lethal. I suppose you would have preferred cops just ask the looter, arsonists and vandals politely to stop their activities?

    LAPD stood by and watched as monsters destroyed people’s businesses….NO sympathy for them, Celeste? Do you ONLY have feelings for criminals?

  • Lol all you Celeste haters just don’t log on to this web site maybe create a new one and let me know

  • I did not know about this radio interview, thus I was not able to listen to it. However, based on the article’s subject matter, it is quite evident that the topic of the budget cuts were discussed as well as the recent deaths of Guardado and Boone.

    First of all, the link which reference’s the two deaths of Guardado and Boone failed (as usual) to give details of their demise.

    Guardado was shot for being in possession of an illegal gun and possibly pointing it at the Deputy(ies). Guardado was not a registered, official security guard as per the state of California’s Bureau of Security & Investigative Services. He was not wearing any apparel or equipment to indicate he was a security guard. Furthermore, Guardado ran from Deputies. The owner of the automotive shop recanted his story about Guardado being a security guard.

    I believe the aforementioned elaboration would have been interesting tidbits of information to the novice reader of the article.

    Boone’s untimely expiration was the culmination of earlier events. Boone had kidnapped his girlfriend, assaulted her (repeatedly), threatened her with bodily harm and stated that he wanted to get into a shoot out with law enforcement. Boone failed to follow the directions of Deputy personnel. Thus, he exited his vehicle discharging his firearm and going down in a blaze of glory.

    Some other relevant tidbits of information which were deliberately omitted from the news article.

    The budget hacking that the BOS & CEO have recommended is truly troublesome for the LASD and the general public.

    The majority of the “hacks” are targeted at the LASD. I do not believe that other county agencies are being subjected to such deep hacks as the LASD.

    In my opinion, AV did the right thing by exposing this biased, vengeful political hit job by the BOS. Although some people may say that AV was whining. I beg to differ.

    When companies are experiencing budgetary shortfalls and or under performing, the cuts are across the entire spectrum of the organization. This is usually in the form of layoffs. Further, depending on the severity of the budget shortfalls, some departments are closed. Nonetheless, this is as a last resort.

    However, it is painfully obvious that they (BOS) are targeting the LASD to “stick it” to AV. However, during this “stick it” to AV process, a good many people may end up losing their jobs. While law abiding citizens get the short end of the stick. This will be in the form of reduced services.

    The BOS are playing childish games, while placing the lives of the citizens of L.A. County in a very precarious position.

  • FX… except racist cops don’t burn down their own neighborhoods or loot and set fires. Give it a rest. Plenty of racists blacks. But we don’t want to talk about that.

  • That’s only 3 that were caught on tape, just imagine how many more are out there lurking behind the badge.

  • @Con-If the so called haters dont log on, then nobody but 3 people will read these articles.

  • @ AD – I have $10.00 on WLA, go for it.

    Call it what you want, be it entertainment, informative or B.S. etc…

    What good is any site if you haters don’t make regular or guest appearances with your cure-all for everything. LMAO!

  • Considering the racial make up of so many of our largest departments these days, give me a number, Every White cop still out there a racist? That what you think? All in relationships with another White significant other, that what you think? Go ahead, make your case.

  • The Celeste defenders have no game, that’s why they want those who poke holes in her simplistic craziness to sit down and shut up.

  • Do you know there is a big difference between , doctors, journalist, bus drivers, teachers, professors, computer programmers and law enforcement officers (police)

    Think about it for while

  • These three cops were probably set up by antifa or BLM . Police are the most compassionate people on the planet .

    But politicians, doctors, journalist, bus drivers, teachers, professors, judges and computer programmers are the real racists arresting, beating and harassing innocent people on the street.

  • Do you ever listen to yourself ?
    Some of those “monsters” looting are probably your teenage nephews.

  • Several reasons:

    AV is not a bought and paid for yes man for the BoS

    AV beat the BoS’s handpicked sheriff

    AV is not a polished politician

    AV does not understand how the county actually functions

    AV overplayed his hand as the most powerful elected official in the county

    AV exceeded his authority re: Mandoyan and had no understanding of civil service matters

    AV continues to buck the system and bite the hand that feeds his budget

    AV refuses to listen to learned advice and promotes loyalists with insufficient experience

    Poor Alex is poor Alex’s worst enemy.

  • This case is now in the courts, meaning it’ll be alive & well during the campaign for the next Sheriff’s election, screaming out from the headlines & the evening news.

    Wonder who the replacement Sheriff will be?

    Thoughts, anyone?

  • Let me take a stab at this….

    The media spin cycle is short and the public’s memory is short no matter how long the media smear blitz bonbardes us with the gotcha “scandal of the time”. Sheriff Villanueva, for those childish, ignorant “dumas’es” who think they’re word play is deserving of a dog treat? I’m sure there’s an ass clapping for you somewhere.

    The office of elected Sheriff serves as a check and balance for the all powerful BOS that is responsible to no one. Oh, and if you say the BOS are accountable to the people who elected them? Well you think about that one.

    If people feel safe in there homes and see the media continue to blast out how out of control and off track failed cities such as New Uork, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle are, Sheriff Villanueva can be assured to win again and again. The evidence will speak for itself and the silent voting majority will speak it’s mind at the polls.

  • Without the additional exposure of LASD via WLA, Tanaka or Baca would be your current Sheriff.

    Stop giving Alex a pass for his shenanigans as it makes you look weak and unknowing.

  • What you say about the “media spin cycle and the public’s memory is short” is indeed true, but not so what happens in the Courts; we all know how long a court case can take.

    If the public memory gets short a screaming headline from a pending juicy court case will wake it up, which is probably the calculation here.

  • Conspiracy, So if the BOS are elected by the people and accountable to their voters, I was wondering who elected the Sheriff ( I know they did not know who they were voting for ) and, who is he accountable to?
    Please do not say GOD, and cry me a river. FYI, there is no silent majority desperately waiting to re-elect Villanueva… hint hint can’t use the bogey man as a scare tactic for the Latinos in 2021. Even the Latinos who voted for him hate his guts. 2021 Sheriff’s election is one, where the Citizens of LA County will slam on the brakes and turn LASD off an awful path of destruction.

  • Juan Carlos….the Sheriff is accountable to the people just as BOS is. I guess I have to spell it out for you. If the people don’t want him as Sheriff they can make the choice come time for election, not the BOS. Understand.

    Which Latinos hate his guts? The ones whose families are criminals, locked up in jail, “justice involved” or here illegally? Most law abiding Americans have no reason the “hate his guts”. What did Sheriff Villanueva ever personally do to them to make them hate his guts as they say? Please share.

    Yes the silent majority who obey the laws, go to work, have responsibilities such as a job and abide by the rules of the democratic process.

    I’m eager to see how things turn out for you and the rest of the Sheriff Hager’s come the next election. You better find your John Doe candidate now and start cultivating a winning charismatic personality.

  • Yes…a screaming headline whether it be based on real facts or a source as reliable as coconuts grown in the Sonoran desert. The damage will be done as they say. It better be a whopper though. People’s distrust in the partisan news media has reached an all time high.

  • @Dose,

    You left off that he is dumb as a rock…… or, sharp as a marble….. or, the lights are on but nobody’s home.

    That’s why the BOS and the CEO documented and placed the Trainee Sheriff on the Dopey Program.

  • “People’s distrust in the partisan news media has reached an all time high.”

    True, but the headline will be generated by what happens in Court, and that’s where the truth will out–public trust in the courts is strong.

  • You found three in a nation of about 800,000 cops. Even if you found 100 it’s exactly how huge an issue? None of the above mentioned would be an issue? Are you truly that stupid? Conservatives are harassed routinely by teachers and professors, stfu. I’m sure you’re fine with that and a racist judge, they couldn’t do any damage at all.

  • Alejandro VILLANueva will be a failed 1 Termer.
    The LACDP wont touch the lying “progressive” ever again. They will use their ballot harvesters for a new “vetted” Latino candidate.

    I Guarantee It! (in my best George Zimmer voice)

  • Dose of reality,
    I agree with you! I do think Villanueva does actually care about community safety, the health of the Sheriff’s Department and staff. However his decisions make meeting those priorities much harder. Even with all those flaws he is better than McDonnell.

  • I can only recommend and support from among those who’ve presented themselves for consideration, and so far nobody has done that.

    And I don’t blame them.

  • Okay…my trust in the courts isn’t. Da’s, prosecutors and judges are mere mortals with all the biases, prejudices, political ideologies, fallibilities, perversions and hang-ups that plague all professions…even dare I say police officers. The only difference is they were businesses suits to work, must go to college and are subject to few if any checks and balances or accountability. If they make a mistake in judgement there is no jail time or civil suit. A judge has his decision reversed, big deal his/her ego is bruised and life goes on.

  • And Jim McDonald, the candidate of the LA Progressive Democratic power brokers and BOS, was guaranteed to win a second term and the pundits predicted Donald Trump would lose the election too.

    I’ll just wait and see.

  • Seeking the truth,

    And I agree with you. AV does love his troops, which was the main reason I personally gave him a pass for some of the poor decisions he made early on. He needs to start listening to competent advice asap and try to salvage his administration. McBuckles was a nice guy and tried to wrap his head around the department, but word from his inner circle was that he was overwhelmed by the size and complexity of the department.

  • @Not so fast- WLA didnt do anything special with the Baca/Tanaka story. All they did was read the articles from the LA Times and rewrite the story on their site.

  • Jim McDonnell was far from a “nice guy” at least on the job at LASO. And, while I was never panel for Long Beach and only represented about 10 LB Officers over the years, from everything I heard, they were glad to be rid of him. As Sheriff, he oversaw an Admin that threw an anchor to virtually any Deputy drowning instead of the needed rope. While I agree he was overwhelmed by the “size and complexity of the department” his actions were abhorrent and vile. He ruined good people without a care in the world and instilled that mindset into otherwise, to that point at least, fairly objective Commanders and Chiefs. I see WLA and all the AV bashing, I get it, a keyboard is a troll’s best friend, sure. But no vitriol or prose hammered out behind a pale screen and a perceived secure veil of anonymity will negate that fact that Alex is for the line first and foremost. My two cents, for what’s it worth. Probably not much, as I am sure someone will gladly point out. Regardless of viewpoint, we can agree, stay safe.

  • Hey Adam, please share your eloquent thoughts on the outright lies, mistruths, disingenuous statements and calculated misdirections that AV his been caught in and which have been well documented in his short 1 1/2 years in office? I am really interested on your take of his ethics, leadership abilities and how he has steered the LASD ship through troubled waters since taking the helm.

  • Bullshit!!!

    Read the series “Dangerous Jails” by Matt Fleischer, a four part series–all original work by WLA.

    it can all be Googled; pay special attention to Part Four–it’s devoted entirely to Internal Affairs & is most revelatory.

    After publication of the series Matt Fleischer went over to the L.A. Times & as far as I know is still working there.

  • And whoa is he horrible; Mitrice Richardson flip flop, Kobe Kover up, Covid-19 pay lie to his own deputies, Guns flip flop, Skippers running the already damaged ship into the rocks, retaliation against personnel at the behest of his bunny, etc…on his Facebook live he took a question asking why he didnt answer to subpoena (18:12). Oh because he doesn’t know about that stuff, so he sent a, wait for it, a new term ‘PMK’, Bruce Chase. For God’s sake, you run the Dept. and should know about the 2nd biggest function of your dept. Scary, because it not only demonstrates a poor leader, but someone who can’t accept responsibility. Villain nueva at his finest hour folks…now, he’s prob holding the autopsy results because I’m sure the optics of someone shot while proned out ain’t too pretty.

  • @ Reverse

    Well said! Every point spot on except maybe the last one. Let’s wait on that one. Could just be being done to avoid further “protesting” at the moment. Let it cool off before releasing the results. I would bet at least one of the shots was”in the back.” although it could still be a “legal shooting.”

    We all know how a suspect can be shot in the back as he is running and or pointing/tossing a gun because it happens so quickly. But the mob won’t accept that. So, it might actually be a good move by AV. One of a few over the last few years.

  • “…I’m sure the optics of someone shot while proned out ain’t too pretty.”

    Source?

  • @Adam

    I concur with your thoughts on McDonnell. He was no friend of the deputy while in office. As an executive, I did what I could for every single deputy that deserved backing. Sometimes I just didn’t have the backing and just couldn’t pull it off. That doesn’t mean I acquiesced, I just lost and had no recourse. He went way too far with his “Constitutional Policing Advisors” directing discipline. And yes, I would agree AV is much better in that respect. AV is just over his head with the politics and getting along with ANYBODY. He thinks he knows it all and won’t even entertain an alternate view, The problem with both of these former men being the Sheriff is they are a one trick pony.

    McDonnell definitely had the political part down with the BOS which helps with the budget and at least some support from the BOS. AV is on the side of the deputy when it comes to discipline and that is good. Maybe a little too much though. Sometimes you have to lower the boom to keep your credibility. One such case put that weakness in judgement, front and center.

    I guess it is like being a basketball player that can dribble well, but is slow, can’t shoot and plays horrible defense. They were both bad in their own way. And, if they would have surrounded themselves with the right people, the weaknesses wouldn’t be or have been so obvious. Oh how I long for Sherman Block and even Lee Baca to a lesser extent, minus the little tyrant.

  • @Moving, try again on the identity guessing game.

    As for being the sheriff, yes he is. Alex Villanueva is absolutely The Worst Sheriff in L.A. County History.

    There you go, feel better now?

  • 100% Glad. Benefit of the doubt should go to peace officers, barring evidence otherwise. Not one human should rush to judgement until all the facts are evaluated. Just saying though, the optics ain’t pretty for the shooting at Compton.

    And old school Rak, word on the yard is all the source you should understand to know. You’ve prob seen much worse and heard much worse. So don’t expect a source ol man

  • Word through the grapevine is that the following are considering a run for the Sheriff:

    1.) Parra
    2.) McDonnel
    3.) Luna (Chief of LBPD)
    4.) Leyva

  • “…word on the yard….”

    Gotcha.

    Scuttlebutt.

    In the military, I remember, scuttlebutt was a pretty good indicator of what was really going on.

    Probably why this LASD investigation is being monitored by

    1. California Attorney-General.
    2. FBI

  • @Boy, I’m Gone, whooooooooooooooa Nellie! Long for Baca? Even a little bit???? He was an absentee Sheriff off running the world chasing windmills and leaving the Department in the hands of Stonich, Waldie and eventually Tanaka. And when he WAS in town he was shaking down his own execs to pad his campaign coffers (BTW, he was the guy who introduced pay-to-play promotions in the Dept, with Stonich as his bag man), giving away badges to his cronies for political favors, trying to influence the Department’s investigations in to Asian crime, shaking down tow truck companies, meeting crooks on yachts in MDR, throwing out our long-time jail commissary vendor in favor of a pal (wonder what the kick-back was there?) and spending tax-payers money on outlandish programs like it was Monopoly money. And all that is just off the top of my head and does not include the fact that he was told over and over and over that Tanaka was a cancer, yet he ignored those warnings because the little guy and he had some sort of special relationship or whatever the hell it was (I always assumed it was because Tanaka kept the books for Baca’s campaign and knew where the skeletons were).

    Missing Baca is like missing a tooth ache after they’ve pulled the tooth and you really miss the tooth, but have really forget what the ache was really like. That fool was more than a tooth ache.

    Imagine having to go back 22 years to find a good Sheriff. Not that Block didn’t have his own ethical issues (maybe it goes with the territory of having relatives on the Dept – and believe it or not a 9-24 issue). But corrupt? No way, Jose! (Can one say that anymore without having their statue torn down?) His only short comings were that he became too powerful of a politician in LA and he got sick. The Times went after him because they hated his power (and popularity) and attacked him because of his age – but it was really his poor health that was the issue. In the end, it was the LASD that paid the price.

    Thankfully, there have been enough good LASD people who have tried to do the right thing and do a good job to keep the ship somewhat afloat all these years. My fear is that Sheriff AV isn’t just going to sink the boat with his EXTERNAL actions (I know he supposedly is all-in for the Deps), he is going to blow it up by changing the independence the Sheriff has always had to run his Dept as he sees fit. If he keeps going as he has, there will be laws changed so that he will either be under the thumb of the BOS or (even worse) under oversight and direction of a group of non-elected civilians who have their own agendas. That, ladies and gentlemen, will result not in a law enforcement organization, but in a social services department and will thrill the likes of Celeste and her crowd. End of ball game.

  • Glad to read someone who sees the “Big Picture” destruction that our current Idiot Sheriff is doing to the elected office of the sheriff.

    #WorstSheriffEver
    #AllieTheClown

  • Pat Rolman: I know Parra worked some great assignments and rose rapidly through the Department yet I never heard of him prior to his assertion. Was he a good cop and earned everything he has obtained or just another Tanaka protege. Just curious.

  • I just meant he was better than the current sheriff. I know he had some very serious issues.

  • Sheriff Block’s daughter may have been a captain on the department, but I know for a fact that when her commander gave her an improvement need Performance Evaluation, Sheriff Block told him to go ahead and serve her with it.

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