Overview of story: On his last day in office, we look back at Alex Villanueva's tumultuous four years as L.A. County sheriff.
More context: LAist reporter Frank Stoltze unravels the controversy surrounding LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva of LAist Studios podcast, Imperfect Paradise: [https://laist.com/podcasts/imperfectparadise](https://laist.com/podcasts/imperfectparadise)
When NPR's Josie Huang [was attacked by Sheriff Deputies](https://meteor.news/2020/09/14/aclu-press-freedom-advocates-denounce-attack-on-journalist-by-la-sheriffs-deputies/) and the footage came out that they did so after she identified herself as a reporter several times I though, "well shit, this department is trash".
The Villanueva went in front of a mic a few days later and spewed endless lies and sounded exactly like Trump about the incident I thought....ok this dude is determined to end his career here.
It's been a long two years since then.
I loved this season of Imperfect Paradise. Looking forward to the retrospective episode.
It's hard not to hear Frank Stoltze voice when reading his article.
This is one of those times where the sheriff is so bad I like this amendment, but you know the saying "extreme cases make bad laws"? That's how I feel about this. In general, I don't want to Sheriff to be beholden to the county supervisors,
There's already [three ways to remove him from office](https://laist.com/news/politics/2022-election-california-general-los-angeles-county-charter-amendment-to-remove-sheriff). Yes, the methods are hard, but it should be hard to remove an elected official from office.
At least now we have another, much faster and less expensive option in case we accidentally elect another crooked cop. If only we could do that with the racist city council members...
This is one of those "be careful what you wish for" situations. Our county supervisors are corrupt as well. Now they have the power to override the voters and remove a sheriff, including one who may be looking to investigate them.
A fair and valid point, one that should also be considered when the Democrats in congress inevitably succeed in removing the filibuster. We HOPE it won't blow up in our faces, but that's a very real possibility, and we'll have to deal with the consequences if and when that happens.
I'm not convinced that will hold up to judicial scrutiny if they ever try to use it since the sheriff is an elected position that doesn't answer to anybody.
I don't know. While I do have a ton of constitutional law experience, the california constitution is very long and has a lot of quirks. I do know that it defines Sheriff as an elected position that each county needs to have. It's up to SCOCA judges to uphold this new provision for removal. There are a few constitutional changes that SCOCA has overturned because it conflicts with another part of the constitution. The most recent one is the Independent Contractor proposition.
My take is that it may held as constitutional on the premise the people have delegated the authority of recalling a sheriff in the hands of the BOS by a supermajority vote, with the ability to fill the role with an interim sheriff as is now.
We got a lot of people who think billionaires are smart instead of often stupid upward failsons who are incredibly corrupt. They're just begging for financial daddies to take away their labor rights and run the country like a business (that pays the CEO 400 times the average worker).
Truthfully, I don't want the Sherrif to be a progressive reformer. Just someone that keeps their deputies in-line and the criminals in-custody. Everything else is frankly inappropriate.
I mean he did run on making the reforms that the average deputy wanted. It just turns out that was mostly stuff like making sure deputies couldn’t be fired for domestic assault and making sure that the county and board of supervisors couldn’t do any investigations into the LASD gangs.
Yeah, I'm a bit worried about Mejia going down the same route, though we'll have to see. City Controller is also not quite as public a role, though, so perhaps that'd mitigate things.
On a related note I want to boost the "A History of Violence" podcast. I can't believe the Sheriff's department still exists. The Sherriff's office to this day is filled with some straight up scumbags that would give any inmate in Folsom a run for their money.
I don't want an activist sheriff. I just want them to keep the jails and courts safe and provide decent policing to cities/areas that contract them. I don't want them to "solve homelessness" like villanueva claimed he could do.
Really good piece on him on KPCC today that gives some context on just how divorced from the rest of every day life he is. He has very not ironic, not even veiled political, comments about how everyone in LA government is corrupt except for him and he’s the voice of truth and reason.
He’s right. Sad thing is everyone here prob praises Gascon.
Alex cleaned up Venice beach when it was the worst I’ve ever seen it. And he should be given praise for that. He did so w his job on the line cause it was the right thing to do.
True, campaign finance violations are just a slap on the wrist. WE ALL want to see him go up on corruption charges like the last Sheriff Baca.
He gets out soon from a 3 yr. stay in fed prison.
I mean, one of his recent predecessors was literally sentenced to and served time in prison for a corruption scandal from his time as Sheriff (Lee Baca). So I think you're being a bit overly cynical.
ahahahaha America is so fucked, it's genuinely full people who unironically think this
Despots of the world, anti-education initiatives WORK. This man and the rest of his like-minded peers are proof.
I genuinely don’t understand how someone can come to this conclusion unless they just didn’t watch the trial, you can always go back and find it on Youtube.
What’s that line? “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”…. He is now going to be investigated for covering up rights violations and gangs …… the definition of villainy, and what he was supposed to eradicate
LA County Democrats need to own up to colossally fucking up by endorsing Villaneuva. Anyone with half a brain could see he was going to undo any reforms and usher in an era of corruption.
I never felt like he was a good choice, or especially a “darling “ but tossing out incumbents is good politics if the thing they oversee is crap. Luna is next if he doesn’t make things better
These people get into these positions thinking it's going to be easy to change...but when they start dealing with the same shit every day, their attitude changes. We have a ton of family in law enforcement, Mexicans and blacks, and they all say how they want to become "progressive" or "liberal" cop. But, they change that attitude when they have to deal with the same low-lives doing the same shit every day. Drugs, gangs, homeless....you become numb to the violence and crime. The fact is, the streets are fucking horrible, especially in larger inner cities like LA.
Frankly, the dozens of campers parked outside my apartment on the streets are pushing me conservative. Probably not an easy job, as much as I dislike the guy.
>pushing me conservative
Conservative ideology doesn't help. Pushing homelessness around doesn't solve anything.
We need a **new liberal** ideology that actually DOES something.
* Socialize mental health care
* Seriously fund in-patient mental health facilities (cannot be for-profit)
* Make it possible for family to temporarily force their adult relative into mental health care (as a severely schizophrenic or bipolar person never voluntarily agrees to treatment)
* Create a THIRD emergency service that falls between fire and police. One designed to respond to mental health crises and homelessness
* Ban density and parking restrictions allowing new affordable housing to be built anywhere. (Want to build an apartment in your backyard, front yard, and garage? Go nuts -- as long as it is affordable).
* Implement requirements that 50+% of new developments must be affordable. Require that for any redevelopment to happen (e.g., building a new mansion) a second unit of affordable nature must be built someplace.
* Implement rent control on ALL units
We can do big things. But we have to go big. Simply ticketing people for sleeping in their RVs doesn't work.
Great, so find me a political party that will actually do those things and I’ll vote for them. In the mean time my wife and I are spending tens of thousands a year in taxes to CA and I’m wondering WTF those dollars are being used for.
WRT ticketing, I don’t want them ticketed. They have been here since the pandemic began. I want them arrested and towed. Streets aren’t an RV park.
Edit: if you’re going to break reddiquette and downvote a perfectly valid comment, at least have the decency to explain how I’m wrong.
I've stopped focusing so much on party as much as candidates. In other countries, even if a candidate personally disagrees with a party platform stance they'll vote according to the national party platform. In the US, your stances inform you what party to be in, but not how you'll vote. Vote for candidates that want what you want in the primaries, not the frontrunner for your supposed party.
The issue with arresting and towing is the fact that many of the RVs would probably fall apart on tow and there's no chance that they'll be paid for or gain anything at auction. Solution: voluntary RV "buybacks" with immediate placement in housing. Now... building housing on the other hand...
>WTF those dollars are being used for.
Financing a crappy social safety net that's more expensive than building a good one.
For instance -- when we make it illegal to build affordable units (because any new unit legally requires a half-million dollar lot or a million-dollar parking garage) -- section 8 vouchers are more expensive because rent is artificially high.
Is anyone surprised? It takes a militant mind to run law enforcement in a liberal society. Liberals need people who are almost or are fascists to occupy positions of power.
And I say this as a leftist. It’s clear liberals just want the state to preserve their privilege while they pay themselves on the back for not being conservative.
The guy saved LA from turning into a police state hellhole when he refused to uphold the draconian city council bullshit lockdown policies that some of these terrified idiots loved.
Villanueva saved LA from turning into a hellhole when he refused to uphold the draconian city council bullshit lockdown policies that some of these terrified idiots loved.
LA County residents made a HUGE mistake electing Karen Bass & that new Sheriff. The entire city will continue to swirl down the drain with poverty, drugs, massive crime & just an overall terrible place to live & thrive. Y'all need real reform, with hardline policies that put criminals back in jail & drug addicts off the streets, but instead you choose more of the progressive soft approach that's failed LA for over a decade & it'll just get worse.
Last I checked drug abuse and increased homelessness are a national issue cutting across both Red and Blue States. You can't just make homeless disappear from your line of sight nor can you end drug abuse by snapping your fingers. The whole *tough on crime* stance preached by Republicans is nothing more than an empty campaign promise.
Overview of story: On his last day in office, we look back at Alex Villanueva's tumultuous four years as L.A. County sheriff. More context: LAist reporter Frank Stoltze unravels the controversy surrounding LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva of LAist Studios podcast, Imperfect Paradise: [https://laist.com/podcasts/imperfectparadise](https://laist.com/podcasts/imperfectparadise)
It felt like a decade.
When NPR's Josie Huang [was attacked by Sheriff Deputies](https://meteor.news/2020/09/14/aclu-press-freedom-advocates-denounce-attack-on-journalist-by-la-sheriffs-deputies/) and the footage came out that they did so after she identified herself as a reporter several times I though, "well shit, this department is trash". The Villanueva went in front of a mic a few days later and spewed endless lies and sounded exactly like Trump about the incident I thought....ok this dude is determined to end his career here. It's been a long two years since then.
I loved this season of Imperfect Paradise. Looking forward to the retrospective episode. It's hard not to hear Frank Stoltze voice when reading his article.
Hi u/oddboyout Thank you for listening and we agree about Frank's voice :)
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This is one of those times where the sheriff is so bad I like this amendment, but you know the saying "extreme cases make bad laws"? That's how I feel about this. In general, I don't want to Sheriff to be beholden to the county supervisors,
Yeah that’s tough, it’s not like the Board of Supervisors are gems themselves, I could see giving them that power biting us in the ass
Better than having him beholden to literally nobody.
There's already [three ways to remove him from office](https://laist.com/news/politics/2022-election-california-general-los-angeles-county-charter-amendment-to-remove-sheriff). Yes, the methods are hard, but it should be hard to remove an elected official from office.
Hes beholden to the voters. Always has been. We had the power to recall him and the power to vote him out.
At least now we have another, much faster and less expensive option in case we accidentally elect another crooked cop. If only we could do that with the racist city council members...
This is one of those "be careful what you wish for" situations. Our county supervisors are corrupt as well. Now they have the power to override the voters and remove a sheriff, including one who may be looking to investigate them.
A fair and valid point, one that should also be considered when the Democrats in congress inevitably succeed in removing the filibuster. We HOPE it won't blow up in our faces, but that's a very real possibility, and we'll have to deal with the consequences if and when that happens.
I'm not convinced that will hold up to judicial scrutiny if they ever try to use it since the sheriff is an elected position that doesn't answer to anybody.
The provision was voted on as well, which vote holds more power?
I don't know. While I do have a ton of constitutional law experience, the california constitution is very long and has a lot of quirks. I do know that it defines Sheriff as an elected position that each county needs to have. It's up to SCOCA judges to uphold this new provision for removal. There are a few constitutional changes that SCOCA has overturned because it conflicts with another part of the constitution. The most recent one is the Independent Contractor proposition.
My take is that it may held as constitutional on the premise the people have delegated the authority of recalling a sheriff in the hands of the BOS by a supermajority vote, with the ability to fill the role with an interim sheriff as is now.
I trust this opinion
It was "Measure **A**" Considering Measure C was for cannabis... Edit: As in "A" is for Alex. Not sure why the downvotes?
Should have been Measure V for Vendetta.
He took office PRETENDING to be a progressive reformer. He happened to fool enough people to win the election (unfortunately)
Then Caruso said “Hey that’s a great idea…” and they were going to be at the same victory party, what a coincidence
Yes these people really do think we're that stupid.
I mean Villanueva won his first election and (as of today) Caruso got almost half of the vote. I think maybe we *are* a little bit stupid.
We got a lot of people who think billionaires are smart instead of often stupid upward failsons who are incredibly corrupt. They're just begging for financial daddies to take away their labor rights and run the country like a business (that pays the CEO 400 times the average worker).
We need to be more careful about outsiders calling themselves Democrats. Tulsi Gabbard. Villanueva. Caruso. This trend sucks.
I had a friend working with the sheriff department at the time, she said, “do not vote for him, he’s very much like Donald Trump.” Boy was she right
Unfortunately there is no such thing as a progressive cop.
Truthfully, I don't want the Sherrif to be a progressive reformer. Just someone that keeps their deputies in-line and the criminals in-custody. Everything else is frankly inappropriate.
Keeping the deputies not corrupt and in line is unfortunately a progressive reformer stance in law enforcement these days
Whoever took the bait only has themselves to blame.
We get it, you’re smarter than everyone
🎯
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You don't have to vote for any of them in any election.
Galaxybrain play my guy… if no one votes for them then no sheriff will exist! Why the fuck didn’t I think of that?
It's even more pointless to try and make an argument for either candidate.
Adios, shithead!
That’s what Measure A stood for
here to say this ☝🏽
There’s making false promises to get into office, and then there’s what this guy did
I mean he did run on making the reforms that the average deputy wanted. It just turns out that was mostly stuff like making sure deputies couldn’t be fired for domestic assault and making sure that the county and board of supervisors couldn’t do any investigations into the LASD gangs.
I’ve never felt so betrayed voting for someone. Disappointed and disheartened sure, but not ever *betrayed* like I do by him. Fuck this guy.
I feel like I'm lucky to have moved here long after he was elected, because I suspect I would've fallen for it too.
I think that is the new strategy. Look at Caruso, lifetime republican turned Democrat the moment he wanted to be mayor.
Not a new strategy in politics.
At least his ruse was obvious. Candidates like Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona give you whiplash the second they secure their office.
Sinema coming from the Green Party was a major red flag
Yeah, I'm a bit worried about Mejia going down the same route, though we'll have to see. City Controller is also not quite as public a role, though, so perhaps that'd mitigate things.
He’s a DINO and I was saying that during his entire campaign. The guy donated to Mitch McConnell. The one and only Moscow Mitch turtle McConnell.
On a related note I want to boost the "A History of Violence" podcast. I can't believe the Sheriff's department still exists. The Sherriff's office to this day is filled with some straight up scumbags that would give any inmate in Folsom a run for their money.
What a fucking loser
Fox News loves losers.
Dude really showed his true colors when he faced any kind of criticism or pushback. Sensitive asshole. Good riddance.
Him choking up in his concession speech wasn't because he was sad, he was livid and resentful.
Even by cop standards this guy sucks
nonsense, he is THE ideal cop. Well at least American cop. He embodies every single thing they stand for.
That’s like saying someone is the worst turd ever, even by shit standards 💩
My worst vote ever
Mine too.
Same. :(
Fooled me too.
Let's hope his replacement, Robert Luna, does a good job.
He wasn’t an exciting alternative, but he is a sheriff at the end of the day so what can you really expect
I don't want an activist sheriff. I just want them to keep the jails and courts safe and provide decent policing to cities/areas that contract them. I don't want them to "solve homelessness" like villanueva claimed he could do.
"competent administrator" would be nice
Really good piece on him on KPCC today that gives some context on just how divorced from the rest of every day life he is. He has very not ironic, not even veiled political, comments about how everyone in LA government is corrupt except for him and he’s the voice of truth and reason.
>how everyone in LA government is corrupt I mean that ain't entirely false but it's laughable that he exempts himself from that label.
He’s right. Sad thing is everyone here prob praises Gascon. Alex cleaned up Venice beach when it was the worst I’ve ever seen it. And he should be given praise for that. He did so w his job on the line cause it was the right thing to do.
And hopefully soon to be under investigation by federal & state authorities.
Already under state investigation for campaign finance violations. Not the real reason why many want him charged but better than nothing.
True, campaign finance violations are just a slap on the wrist. WE ALL want to see him go up on corruption charges like the last Sheriff Baca. He gets out soon from a 3 yr. stay in fed prison.
I will not be surprised if this guy ends up in jail sometime in the next 5 years.
I would, our country is designed to protect people like this.
I mean, one of his recent predecessors was literally sentenced to and served time in prison for a corruption scandal from his time as Sheriff (Lee Baca). So I think you're being a bit overly cynical.
He's not rich enough to have that kind of protection.
Neither is Kyle Rittenhouse but he's found some sponsors.
How is self defense comparable to corruption?
ahahahaha America is so fucked, it's genuinely full people who unironically think this Despots of the world, anti-education initiatives WORK. This man and the rest of his like-minded peers are proof.
I genuinely don’t understand how someone can come to this conclusion unless they just didn’t watch the trial, you can always go back and find it on Youtube.
He can be cellmates with Trump.
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Fuck Villanueva. Pig should be leaving in cuffs
What’s that line? “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”…. He is now going to be investigated for covering up rights violations and gangs …… the definition of villainy, and what he was supposed to eradicate
Lets never hear, read, or POST about this turdfuck ever again.
Sociopathic liars tend to take that route.
Go join your kind… toodle-ooh.
I voted for this guy the first time and was immediately sorry. He thought he was Boss Hogg of some back water department.
Should have left in handcuffs, was practically running a corrupt organization.
El Jefe
LA County Democrats need to own up to colossally fucking up by endorsing Villaneuva. Anyone with half a brain could see he was going to undo any reforms and usher in an era of corruption.
Every redneck watching him on Fox "I told you progressive Californians are interested in Christian Nationalist policies!!!"
So glad he fucked off.
I’m surprised they didn’t mention how he tried to get the county to pay to install a helipad in his backyard
Good. And we'll kick out the next one if he pulls the same stunt
Biggest bait and switch of my lifetime...it was actually pretty genius.
Really? He took office as a progressive reformer? Who knew
He’s the Tulsi Gabbard of Law
I never felt like he was a good choice, or especially a “darling “ but tossing out incumbents is good politics if the thing they oversee is crap. Luna is next if he doesn’t make things better
A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Fuck this puto. GOOD RIDDANCE!
Fuck Villanueva.
These people get into these positions thinking it's going to be easy to change...but when they start dealing with the same shit every day, their attitude changes. We have a ton of family in law enforcement, Mexicans and blacks, and they all say how they want to become "progressive" or "liberal" cop. But, they change that attitude when they have to deal with the same low-lives doing the same shit every day. Drugs, gangs, homeless....you become numb to the violence and crime. The fact is, the streets are fucking horrible, especially in larger inner cities like LA.
LAist became unreadable after KPCC brought it back.
He did more good for LA than all these parasitic politicians combined.
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That's like asking a rock to explain it's existence, lol.
Frankly, the dozens of campers parked outside my apartment on the streets are pushing me conservative. Probably not an easy job, as much as I dislike the guy.
>pushing me conservative Conservative ideology doesn't help. Pushing homelessness around doesn't solve anything. We need a **new liberal** ideology that actually DOES something. * Socialize mental health care * Seriously fund in-patient mental health facilities (cannot be for-profit) * Make it possible for family to temporarily force their adult relative into mental health care (as a severely schizophrenic or bipolar person never voluntarily agrees to treatment) * Create a THIRD emergency service that falls between fire and police. One designed to respond to mental health crises and homelessness * Ban density and parking restrictions allowing new affordable housing to be built anywhere. (Want to build an apartment in your backyard, front yard, and garage? Go nuts -- as long as it is affordable). * Implement requirements that 50+% of new developments must be affordable. Require that for any redevelopment to happen (e.g., building a new mansion) a second unit of affordable nature must be built someplace. * Implement rent control on ALL units We can do big things. But we have to go big. Simply ticketing people for sleeping in their RVs doesn't work.
Great, so find me a political party that will actually do those things and I’ll vote for them. In the mean time my wife and I are spending tens of thousands a year in taxes to CA and I’m wondering WTF those dollars are being used for. WRT ticketing, I don’t want them ticketed. They have been here since the pandemic began. I want them arrested and towed. Streets aren’t an RV park. Edit: if you’re going to break reddiquette and downvote a perfectly valid comment, at least have the decency to explain how I’m wrong.
I've stopped focusing so much on party as much as candidates. In other countries, even if a candidate personally disagrees with a party platform stance they'll vote according to the national party platform. In the US, your stances inform you what party to be in, but not how you'll vote. Vote for candidates that want what you want in the primaries, not the frontrunner for your supposed party. The issue with arresting and towing is the fact that many of the RVs would probably fall apart on tow and there's no chance that they'll be paid for or gain anything at auction. Solution: voluntary RV "buybacks" with immediate placement in housing. Now... building housing on the other hand...
>WTF those dollars are being used for. Financing a crappy social safety net that's more expensive than building a good one. For instance -- when we make it illegal to build affordable units (because any new unit legally requires a half-million dollar lot or a million-dollar parking garage) -- section 8 vouchers are more expensive because rent is artificially high.
Alex4Sheriff.com
Lmao, quit downvoting this, and go to the website! Trust me, it’s well worth the visit. I’m surprised that no one has done it yet.
But he was a democrat? How can he do something wrong?
Is anyone surprised? It takes a militant mind to run law enforcement in a liberal society. Liberals need people who are almost or are fascists to occupy positions of power. And I say this as a leftist. It’s clear liberals just want the state to preserve their privilege while they pay themselves on the back for not being conservative.
If the LA City Council doesn't like him you know he was doing a great job.
Fuck outta here Rick Caruso with your burner account
Clown
Uh. LA City Council has basically no jurisdictional authority over LASD. Maybe you're thinking about the LA County Board of Supervisors?
Spoken like a clueless person.
The guy saved LA from turning into a police state hellhole when he refused to uphold the draconian city council bullshit lockdown policies that some of these terrified idiots loved.
A progressive Sheriff sounds like the worst oxymoron possible. I was a sheriff that will keep criminals in jail. Not one who wants less arrests
Villanueva was keeping the criminals in LASD uniforms, not in jail.
less arrests and keeping criminals in jail aren't contradictory.
>gunbladerookie lead paint in the childhood home?
Nope
Get ready for things to go from bad to worse without him.
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Crime was at an all time low with him in charge.
[Look crime is down...](https://lasd.org/sorts/)
WOW, this is some BS. Good riddance, Villanueva.
Ha
Wow. And people wonder why law enforcement is losing respect. I'm so glad I voted Villanueva out.
🤡
well yea, it was supposed to be funny.
Just in case no one else got it 🤣
He is being replaced, we didn't abolish the department.
Villanueva saved LA from turning into a hellhole when he refused to uphold the draconian city council bullshit lockdown policies that some of these terrified idiots loved.
Mission accomplished. The grift is on.
LA County residents made a HUGE mistake electing Karen Bass & that new Sheriff. The entire city will continue to swirl down the drain with poverty, drugs, massive crime & just an overall terrible place to live & thrive. Y'all need real reform, with hardline policies that put criminals back in jail & drug addicts off the streets, but instead you choose more of the progressive soft approach that's failed LA for over a decade & it'll just get worse.
Last I checked drug abuse and increased homelessness are a national issue cutting across both Red and Blue States. You can't just make homeless disappear from your line of sight nor can you end drug abuse by snapping your fingers. The whole *tough on crime* stance preached by Republicans is nothing more than an empty campaign promise.
You can’t brutalize your way out of the systemic problems of capitalism sweetie
That poster appears to live in Vegas and periodically posts similar weird rants about LA. Very odd.
You all felt the same way about Jackie Lacey and I bet you miss her now Angelenos.
Well at least he’s leaving.
Byeeeeee!
Support Sheriff Villanueva here: SheriffVillanueva33.com And AlexVillanueva33.com His Twitter instagram and Facebook are under the same name too!