KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Several Los Angeles County officials called for Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s resignation Thursday, including members of the County Board of Supervisors and the Civilian Oversight Commission that oversees the sheriff’s department.
The calls for action are the most recent development in a long line of confrontations between Villanueva, the County Board, and the Commission, which have included barbed social media statements and borderline threats of bureaucratic retaliation as tensions have risen during the coronavirus pandemic, exacerbated by curfews, protests, budget changes and the recent shooting of two deputies.
See Related: Sheriff Alex Villanueva Defies Subpoena To Testify About COVID-19 In L.A. County Jails
Civilian Oversight Commission member Robert Bonner, a former U.S. Attorney and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator, was the first to call on Villanueva to step down during the final hours of a commission meeting Thursday.
“It’s with great reluctance that I’m calling for Sheriff Villanueva to resign,” Bonner said. “The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department itself deserves better. The men and women of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deserve better.”
The commission expressed doubt over the sheriff’s version of events leading to the filmed arrest of a reporter and asked county attorneys to prepare a report on legal responsibilities involved in law enforcement activities at protests.
“It’s with great reluctance that I’m calling for Sheriff Villanueva to resign,” Bonner said. “I don’t take this step lightly. I only do so because it’s become apparent that he has demonstrated on occasions that he lacks the judgment needed to be the sheriff and he’s unable to provide the leadership needed by the sheriff’s department.”
The Los Angeles County Office of Inspector General confirmed Wednesday that it had initiated an investigation into the September 12 arrest by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department of reporter Josie Huang, a KPCC/LAist reporter who was arrested while she was covering a protest following the ambush shooting of two LASD deputies in Compton.
Thank you https://t.co/5ajOiRV1m6 for what is the clearest footage of my arrest by @LASDHQ.
It’s how I remember it — like being tossed around in the ocean and then slammed into rock pic.twitter.com/G3rfCR1NiI
— Josie Huang (@josie_huang) September 14, 2020
Members of the commission also noted Villanueva’s handling of the deputies who inappropriately took photos of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash scene in January, and shared them with the media, resulting in public backlash.
During a press conference that same Thursday, updating the public on the outcome of a deputy-involved shooting Villanueva said that the Civilian Oversight Commission was overstepping its role.
“There’s a fine line between being a watchdog and a political attack dog,” Villanueva said. “That’s pretty much the line they’ve crossed. They crossed the line a long time ago. This is just the latest example of it.”
Villanueva also called the commission a “political body appointed by the Board of Supervisors,” with whom the sheriff has repeatedly clashed on budget and other issues.
“They’re just part of the echo chamber of the board,” Villanueva said. “And unfortunately, the route they take is not one that’s going to engender goodwill … between myself or the organization, because there’s a fine line being a watchdog and an attack dog, a political attack dog.”
Also on Thursday, L.A. County Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Mark Ridley-Thomas said they supported the calls for Villanueva to resign.
“Like the members of the Civilian Oversight Commission, I remain troubled by the Sheriff’s conduct and the way he has interfered with advancing reform and enhancing accountability,” Ridley-Thomas said in a statement.
In response to the comments made by the COC, Ridley-Thomas and Kuehl, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released an official statement, calling the motion “morally repugnant and emblematic of the political animosity of the politically-appointed commission,” in light of the fact that the calls for Villanueva’s resignation come while two deputies are recovering from a shooting ambush in Compton.
“It is becoming painfully obvious this commission is acting in retaliation against the sheriff for his efforts in investigating potential criminal conduct from county officials and for challenging the legality of subpoenaing the sheriff himself versus the LASD,” read the LASD HQ statement. “The sheriff will remain focused on serving the residents of Los Angeles County as he leads the department in investigating the ambush, overseeing the response to the Bobcat Fire evacuations, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic’s impact to the jail system.”
In a series of tweets published Friday, Villanueva personally shot back at detractors, stating that the “proxy war” against him continued.
(1/3) The Board of Supervisors proxy war against me continues unabated. This coordinated effort is direct retaliation for my efforts in exposing corruption at all levels of county government. I will not be deterred.
— Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff_33) September 18, 2020
(3/3) I ask ethical leaders to also focus upon serving our community.#AdelanteVillanueva
— Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff_33) September 18, 2020
“I am very disappointed in recent comments, but I have no time to engage in an exchange of personal attacks,” wrote Villanueva. “We are facing unprecedented challenges on multiple fronts and I will continue to remain focused on public safety as my number one priority.”
Neither the Civilian Oversight Commission nor the Board of Supervisors has the authority to remove Villanueva from office as he is an elected official, however the COC may release a vote of no confidence or formally call for his resignation at the next meeting.
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I think Everyone has a problem with County Supervisors asking him to Resign when they give Looters, Rioters, and Murderers Free range in LA when they Defund the Cops.
It’s become pretty clear that Black LIES Don’t Matter to anyone.
If you want him to fire him then FIRE him for not helping ICE Arrest & Deport Illegal Aliens and not enforcing US Immigration Laws and putting American lives at risk
Marco, do you realize he’s an ELECTED official? The voters of LA County put him in his position so now some biased politicians don’t have the power to “Stop paying his salary”.
The Sheriff ran as a progressive and I didn’t support him at the time but he has actually been much better than I thought he would be. But apparently he’s not progressive enough for the cop hating civilian oversight committee.
This is pure politics folks!
I’d like to see him stay. No resignation!!!!!
People want him replaced with another puppet. He’s been pushing back, we need more leaders to fight back. Speak up. Support the law abiding citizens. Look at other police departments being gutted and lawlessness has taken over. Not every citizen is a liberal Democrat.
I agree with Chris. I did not vote for this guy because he seemed way too liberal. However, he has proved himself as someone who looks out for the well-being of citizens and his department. When the arrested reporter is getting more coverage than the two ambushed deputies, there is something wrong. The one who needs to resign is the LA police chief. He has basically thrown his whole department under the bus and won’t protect his officers.
Stay the course, the people of LA deserve you. These political clowns just want a yes man to serve them. You serve us, the people and we appreciate you.
The sheriff is acting as if he accountable to no one but like each and every employee — and he *is* an employee, he is answerable to his supervisors. There is an oversight committee in place to “watch…over” both he and his department’s actions. Every working employee knows there’s a code of behavior at every job and if they act inappropriately or go shooting their mouth off the’re going to be called on the carpet, charged for insubordination or canned. He has messed up and turned his head while his deputies messed up and gone crazy it’s like the wild west in Santa Clarita. He’s a loose cannon on deck and he’s gotta go.
He is doing a GREAT JOB!! No WAY is he gonna resign! It’s all these whiners and crybabies and fringe protest groups that are the problem! THEY are the ones that need to GO AWAY! Just ridiculous! Enough is enough already! This is an awesome Sheriff and he needs to stay put!