THE LAWLESS
LAWYER CLASS
LAWYER
JACKIE LACEY PROTECTS HER MURDERING GANG INFESTED L.A. SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT.
SHE IS A REMINDER THAT THE LAWS DO NOT APPLY TO THE LAWYER CLASS!
ONLY KAMALA
HARRIS HAS DONE MORE FOR MURDERING COPS AND THEIR GENEROUS NEO-FASCIST COP
UNIONS!
https://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-lawless-class-how-lawyer-jackie.html
During
her time in the DA’s office, Lacey has prosecuted only one officer for killing
a civilian, leading to protests outside her office and her home.
“She
continues to find that it is necessary for police
to kill
unarmed people,” Gascón said. “Perhaps she
thinks
it’s fine, or perhaps it’s all the money she
has taken
from police unions.” Lacey has benefitted
from
more than $5 million in contributions to
outside
committees benefiting Lacey has come
from law
enforcement unions.
Oversight Panel Calls for Resignation of LA
Sheriff Alex Villanueva
BY FRANK STOLTZE IN NEWS ON OCTOBER 15, 2020 3:48 PM
FILE: L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks in August at
the graduation ceremony for the latest Academy Class. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
In a significant erosion of
support for Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the Sheriff's Civilian
Oversight Commission Thursday called on him to resign as leader of one of the
largest law enforcement agencies in the country. Commissioners said the sheriff
has obstructed oversight at nearly every turn and failed to address major
problems at the agency, including the existence of "deputy gangs."
The commission's resolution
describes "a serious lack of judgement and leadership by Sheriff
Villanueva" and decries "his efforts to block meaningful
reform." It also says Villanueva has restricted access to the department
by the county's inspector general.
In an extraordinary move, the sheriff opened a criminal
investigation into Inspector General Max Huntsman in 2019, accusing him of
unlawfully accessing department records. Huntsman — and the county's attorney —
said he had access to those files under the law that created his office.
Members of the commission called the sheriff's move an act of intimidation.
LOST CONFIDENCE
The nine-member panel says it
has lost confidence in Villanueva's ability to effectively govern the agency,
which employs nearly 18,000 people and operates the largest local jail system
in the country.
Villanueva was an
unconventional candidate for sheriff when he beat incumbent Jim McDonnel in the
2018 election. He was a retired lieutenant with little management experience
who had never supervised more than 100 people. Villanueva won largely because
of the backing of the deputy's union and an endorsement by the LA County
Democratic Party.
The vote Thursday to call on
Villanueva to resign was unanimous. Some of the panel's most traditionally
pro-law enforcement members agreed the sheriff must go, including former
Federal Judge Robert Bonner, former Deputy District Attorney Lael Rubin, and
former Sheriff's Lt. J.P. Harris.
Despite those credentials,
Villanueva has called the panel anti-law enforcement.
"They're political
philosophies are either they really, really hate cops or they slightly hate
cops or they're not too sure," he said. In the sheriff's view, attempts by
the panel to oversee his department are part of a "proxy war" by the
Board of Supervisors. The board appoints the panel.
It's worth noting Villanueva's
relationship with the board has deteriorated too — two members of the board
have asked him to resign. Aspiring members of the board also are critical of
the sheriff. In Wednesday's debate hosted by
our newsroom,
Herb Wesson and Holly Mitchell both said the sheriff was unqualified to do the
job. They're vying for the open District 2 seat, which represents cities such
as Carson, Compton, Culver City and Inglewood; all or part of L.A.
neighborhoods including Crenshaw, Koreatown, La Brea, and Mar Vista; and other
unincorporated areas of the county.
Villanueva did not immediately
respond to requests for comment on the commission's vote.
AN ELECTED OFFICE
The sheriff is elected by the
voters — so it's unclear what effect the calls for resignation will have. In
fact, several commissioners worried their resolution will close the door on any
hope for effective oversight — even though it simultaneously calls on the
sheriff to cooperate with the panel.
"It does seem to be a bit
of a contradiction," said Harris. "I hope it doesn't close the
door."
"He is the one that closed
the door, he's the one that can open it," said Commissioner and Loyola Law
School Professor Priscilla Ocen.
The vote comes amid a raging
debate over policing in the country and a demand for more accountability and
transparency. It also follows a series of controversial shootings by sheriff's
deputies that drew angry protests, as well as accusations of brutality by the
department during the George Floyd and other demonstrations.
Among the resolution's points:
§ Sheriff Villanueva removed the
Sheriff's Department's constitutional policing advisors, while at the same time
attempting to rehire deputies who were fired for cause, such as fabricating
evidence and domestic violence.
§ Sheriff Villanueva alleged,
without proof, that the disciplinary process was "unfair" and
deactivated the disciplinary proceedings against deputies accused of using
excessive force and committing child abuse
§ Violent deputy cliques or gangs
continue to operate within the department, particularly in the Compton and East
Los Angeles stations... Despite Sheriff Villanueva's claims that members of
these cliques/gangs have been disciplined or reassigned pursuant to Sheriff's
Department policy, Inspector General Max Huntsman has said that he is
"'aware of no implementation whatsoever' of the policy and that his office
can't effectively investigate the secret societies 'because of the obstruction
of the Sheriff's Department.'"
In another part of the resolution,
the commission says the commission has "violated the First Amendment
rights of residents engaging in protest activity as well as journalists
covering protests." It cites the arrest of LAist/KPCC reporter
Josie Huang,
who was taken into custody by deputies last month after identifying herself as
a member of the press. "In defending the arrest, Sheriff Villanueva cited
inaccurate and misleading information that was contradicted by contemporaneous
video footage."
THE BACKSTORY
When Villanueva took office in
December of 2018, commissioners initially were hopeful for a better
relationship with him than his predecessor Jim McDonnell, who sometimes
resisted requests for information from the panel and attended only a handful of
their meetings.
Indeed, Villanueva attended
several meetings during his first few months in office but as commissioners'
questions became more pointed about deputy discipline, use of force and other
matters, he quit showing up.
Villanueva was particularly
perturbed by the panel's demand for more information about his decision to
rehire a former campaign aide who had been terminated by the department for
alleged domestic violence and lying. The rehiring of Caren Carl Mandoyan
sparked a lawsuit by the board of supervisors and a judge's ruling it was
unlawful.
His relationship with the nine-member
civilian panel steadily deteriorated since then with his often refusing to even
send subordinates to answer questions necessary for them to conduct effective
oversight. McDonnell almost always sent his undersheriff to meetings - even if
his responses to inquiries left the commission unsatisfied.
In May, Villanueva defied the
first ever subpoena by the commission to testify about how he was handling the
spread of coronavirus inside LA County's sprawling jail system. The sheriff
worried it would be a "public shaming" of him.
The commission was created by
the Board of Supervisors in January of 2016 to increase transparency and
accountability at the department. In March, voters approved a measure giving
subpoena power. At each point, criminal justice reform advocates expressed high
hopes for better oversight and changes at the sheriff's department.
With the commission now at a
standoff with the sheriff, nobody expressed much hope.
There was talk of a recall of
the sheriff among a few activists who spoke at the meeting - the only hope for
some to oust a sheriff who's vowed to remain in power.
»
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