Sheriff Alex Villanueva continues to resist the Civilian Oversight Commission’s inquiries into allegations of wrongdoing within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Villanueva told KNX that the charges the commission has levied against his department are merely part of a “circus act.”
He added that the commission is acting on the behest of the Board of Supervisors in a “proxy war” with the department.
Villanueva skipped out on Thursday’s meeting despite receiving a subpoena to attend. He declined to say why he would not attend, only that he was too busy. He was meant to answer allegations that the department targets critics with investigations and allows secretive subgroups engaged in illegal activity to operate in the department.
Villanueva challenged the commission’s legal ability to subpoena, telling KNX that “lawful orders come from the courts. [They don’t] come from the commission.”
However, a 2020 ballot measure did just that. Measure R, which passed with overwhelming support, grants the commission subpoena power to investigate complaints.
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In Villanueva’s absence on Thursday, the commissioners did not hold back their criticism.
“The sheriff has repeatedly defied our subpoenas, perhaps in an attempt to obstruct our oversight functions,” said Priscilla Ocen, the commission’s chair and a Loyola Law School Professor. “He will not, however, deter us from doing our duty. Abstaining from today’s meeting is not going to stop us from doing our job and rooting out gangs in the department.”
Villanueva strongly disagrees with the allegation that there are gangs within the department.
“I can guarantee that the gangs do not exist, for sure. Subgroups do exist occasionally. Occasionally they can do some dumb things, and we hold them accountable,” he said.
Villanueva added that he has terminated and disciplined deputies for misconduct associated with cliques but the commission does not want to acknowledge that.
He believes the Board of Supervisors takes issue with him because he is an “independent actor.”
“Previous sheriffs have always had the protection of the political establishment, and they were paid to look the other way,” the sheriff said.
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The oversight commission said on Thursday it wants to subpoena another LASD official to try some answers about LASD’s use of investigations as a means to intimidate Villanueva’s critics.
Villanueva hit back at the idea that his deputies are doing anything other than following the law. “That group is actually investigating allegations of crimes. That is their job. There’s nothing secretive about it. The Times seems to know everything about the group,” said the sheriff.
He was referring to an L.A. Times report that described a mysterious unit within the department that pursues long-running investigations even after FBI and state law enforcement officials have said no crimes took place. The connection between those being investigated, according to the report, is that the targets have all been outspokenly critical of Villanueva or the department.
“He’s only targeting political enemies,” District Attorney George Gascón told The Times about Villanueva. “It was obvious that was not the kind of work I wanted to engage in, so we declined.”
The commission requested that the county counsel consider all legal options, including holding the sheriff in contempt for his failure to attend. The commission members also voted to ask the California Attorney General to review LASD investigations of elected officials and appointees.
Villaneuva told KNX he would attend a meeting in October to answer the commission’s questions.