Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is behind in a race to keep his job running the largest sheriff’s department in the country. Retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna is vying to replace him in November.
Los Angeles County has paid out roughly $55 million in settlements since 1990 in civil cases involving allegations that sheriff’s deputies belonged to a secret society, records show.Luna said any policy cracking down on the groups has to come with the proper training and implementation.
“If you write a policy, and you don’t do training, or you don’t hold anybody accountable ... the policy isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” he said. He also called for federal and state intervention and vowed to cooperate with the oversight entities that were put in place to keep the Sheriff’s Department in check.Villanueva has long touted the Sheriff’s Department’s Homeless Outreach Services Team, a team of deputies that team up with civilian outreach workers to connect homeless people with shelter and services.
Villanueva increased the staffing of the team and grabbed headlines by sending its members out to areas patrolled by the Los Angeles Police Department, including Venice and Olvera Street. Critics said his actions amounted to a publicity stunt.Luna has criticized Villanueva for showing up to the Venice Boardwalk and taking credit for the work of other city leaders and outreach efforts.
“We cannot have a police leader who decides at the last minute to get in front of a TV camera and say ... ‘I’m taking credit for cleaning up a specific block or area’ and not give credit to all the government entities and the non-government entities who are working their butts off to clean the streets,” Luna said.
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