Sheriff Alex Villanueva Addresses Several Areas of Current Public Interest
On Tuesday, November 15, 2022, Sheriff Alex Villanueva held a press conference to address several areas of current public interest.
In his opening statement, Sheriff Villanueva talked about CSULA conducting an independent analysis. The study includes examining the organizational structure, policies, and procedures that govern LASD’s response to deputy misconduct between January 1, 2012, and July 31, 2022. The outcome of this analysis resulted in 48 complaints per month; on average timeline from allegation to disposition was 144 days. “Misconduct is an individual behavior and occurs independent of tattoo status. Rather cases involving the presence of a tattoo and allegations of misconduct are coincidental,” according to the people who conducted the analysis.
He also discussed the lawsuits brought by Austreberto Gonzalez, the Estate of Paul Rea, and Robin Limon, which have fallen apart due to false narratives and lack of evidence. The lawsuits filed were all driven by a failed sheriff’s candidate recruiting department members to sue and became a very elaborate campaign strategy.
The sheriff displayed the letter to the Board of Supervisors regarding Office of Inspector General, Max Huntsman to correct the record based on what he said and what he did. However, the BOS refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing by Huntsman. He explains that the Board of Supervisors portrayed the sheriff through narrative as being insubordinate against the BOS and created an elaborate system to give a negative impression to the public about the sheriff himself even though all the information was provided to them based on what they were legally entitled. Yet when it came time for Max Huntsman to testify, his testimony was secretive. Huntsman’s testimony took place behind closed doors, where he recanted everything said in public, including the identification of gang members.
He continued to show how the District Attorney was holding off releasing the results of high-profile cases of Anthony Weber, Andres Guardado, Enzo Escalante, and Dijon Kizzee, of which three were found to be justifiable, and one declined to file charges. Yet, the results were not released because of political purposes.
During his four years in office, he faced complex challenges, from the Bobcat Fire to a worldwide pandemic, from protests and riots to the homeless crisis, to name a few of the constant challenges (See material used during the press conference). Yet with the challenges the sheriff faced, many accomplishments were achieved: ICE was removed from jails, SCAAP Grant Funding rejected, and CCW’s attainable (See material used during the press conference).
Sheriff Villanueva wished the incoming sheriff Robert Luna well on his new endeavor. The safety of the community depends on him as well as the welfare of every member of the department.
Sheriff Villanueva thanks every department member for their hard work and dedication. “They are true heroes.” He continues to thank the media for doing what they can, having patience when reporting the information, and being the voice of democracy that will survive.
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is a voluntary Association. People are not forced to be deputy sheriffs; you have to want to be a deputy sheriff. People have faith in the leadership and the work ethic of this organization.”-Sheriff Villanueva.
