At What Cost?
While La Canada is known for its exemplary schools and small-town feel, as an incorporated city of Los Angeles County we are not insulated from the corruption of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD). In fact, our community spends millions of dollars a year for LASD's "services", but what is the LASD? How good of a public safety system do we have? And, even if you feel protected... at what cost? To learn more about the work of the LASD read our paper linked below.
POLICE HAVE KILLED 951 PEOPLE IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY SINCE 2000
Nearly 80% of whom were Black or Latine.
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is responsible for over 400 of these killings.
"There are serious concerns and reports that accountability and adherence to legitimate policing practices have lapsed at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. We are undertaking this investigation to determine if LASD has violated the law or the rights of the people of Los Angeles County."
- Former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra
Press Release, January 22, 2021
A HISTORY OF INMATE ABUSE
FBI investigations have revealed that deputies have been known to develop their own creeds and use tattoos to identify one another allowing them to organize and operate in a manner similar to gangs. These groups have been known to encourage and reward acts of brutality (Source). This includes reports that one gang of deputies would “earn” their tattoos by breaking the bones of inmates in Men’s Central in Los Angeles (Source).
Sheriff Villanueva
Alex Villanueva is currently serving as 33rd Sheriff of Los Angeles County. In his 2018 campaign, Alex Villanueva promised to form a Truth and Reconciliation Committee for the purpose of righting wrongs done by the Sheriff’s Department. Instead of reviewing cases of brutality in the Department, as he had initially claimed was his intent, he used this committee to rehire a deputy who was fired for allegations of domestic abuse and stalking (Source). Villanueva has also continued to downplay the existence of violent deputy gangs referring to them as a "cultural norm" (Source).
His failure to cooperate resulted in the Civilian Oversight Commission calling on him to resign in October 2020 (Source). The following month, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to explore options to impeach or relieve Villanueva of his responsibilities (Source).