The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department consistently obstructs investigations into its conduct and fails to follow the law, according to a report released today by the watchdog agency that oversees the department.
In a report that breaks little new ground, Inspector General Max Huntsman details an impressively long list of complaints and potential violations ranging from allegedly threatening other county officials to failing to disclose the names of deputies involved in shootings.
“The Sheriff’s Department has gone to great lengths to keep its conduct secret,’’ the report concludes. “The unlawful acts and potentially unlawful acts enumerated above show a pattern and practice of the repudiation of oversight by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), the Civilian Oversight Commission, the Board (of Supervisors) and the public.’’
Huntsman’s letter, titled “Report Back on Unlawful Conduct of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,’’ was issued at the request of the Civilian Oversight Commission. Whether the OIG or the Board of Supervisors is gearing up for further action was not immediately clear.
Last month, the board voted 3-2 to look at options for removing elected Sheriff Alex Villanueva as the county’s top lawman, rather than waiting to see if voters will do so in 2022. Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Janice Hahn dissented, saying the matter should be left in the hands of voters.
In this latest report, Huntsman countered Villanueva’s contention that his power comes directly from the California Constitution and cannot be limited by charter, statute or ordinance. Huntsman contends that state law makes clear that the Board of Supervisors supervises all county officers, including the sheriff, despite the fact that he is elected rather than appointed. Villanueva has accused Huntsman of fighting a proxy war to discredit him on behalf of the board.
“Attorneys, particularly those that work for the county, their obligation is to spin everything they can to the advantage of their client, which is the Board of Supervisors,’’ the sheriff said during an online briefing in October.
Villanueva has pointed to his public posts of policies and documents on the department’s website as evidence of his commitment to public transparency, although Huntsman has criticized some of the information as incomplete and out of date.
The OIG report, dated Dec. 14, details recent court rulings on the sheriff’s authority.
In a September ruling about Villanueva’s unilateral rehiring of a deputy fired after being accused of domestic violence and lying to investigators, a judge found that the sheriff and his department don’t function independently when it comes to hiring procedures, qualification for employment and the conduct of civil litigation.
Despite that ruling, Huntsman said the department has not complied with related document requests.
