Survivor’s Hopes Dashed As Deputy Gang Transparency Vote Postponed

LA County Supervisors voted to hold vote on forcing Sheriff’s Dept to ID insider gangs

Nearly fifty people in matching orange T-shirts lined up to speak to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors about how violence doled out by deputy gangs inside of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has impacted their lives. All were hopeful that Tuesday’s meeting would yield the passage of a motion that would direct the sheriff’s department to identify and name deputy gangs within its ranks. Their hopes were dashed when the Board voted to split the motion up through bifurcation and continued the rest of the directives to be voted on during the Board’s November 10 meeting.

The original motion, authored by Supervisor Holly Mitchell, directed the Sheriff’s Department to publicly identify and name “deputy gangs, cliques, and secret subgroups” within 120 days of its passage. The Board voted 4-1, with Mitchell in opposition, to direct the county’s CEO to report on whether the motion triggered the process to meet and confer with department’s employee associations.

Supervisor Janice Hahn moved to split the motion into two parts after expressing concern that the directives in the motion would be stuck in negotiations.

“There have been other policies that attempt to hold deputy gangs accountable, but they’re stuck in meet and confer. And some of them have been stuck for three years,” Hahn said during the meeting. “If it’s for three years some of these directives are going to be stuck in meet and confer then I’m not sure what value this motion will be….that changes the support of some of those directives.”

In an emailed statement, Mitchell said that her motion was fundamentally about gathering information on deputy gangs rather than introducing policy directives that change working conditions. Changes in labor trigger the meet and confer process. LA County CEO Joseph M. Nicchitta and County Counsel Dawyn Harrison confirmed during the meeting that report backs themselves would not trigger the meet and confer process.

“These are information-gathering and accountability measures that are intended to help us determine the best way to move forward,” Michell wrote. “Continuing them delays the very information we need to make informed decisions and take meaningful action.”

The split and delay was met with boos by supporters of the motion who came to watch the vote in person.

“What happened today was absolutely shameful,” said Janet Assante, lead organizer of the JusticeLA coalition, which advocates for stopping the expansion of the LA County Jail system. The group’s members bright shirts stood in stark contrast to the dull brown of some 30 sworn department personnel who filled the front rows of the meeting’s seating.

The move was interpreted as a show of force by several people who had come to give public comment about the negative impacts of deputy gangs on Los Angeles County residents. Dozens of people hissed and chanted as the uniformed personnel walked into the meeting. Supervisor Mitchell commented on the large department presence in her opening remarks on the motion.

“I appreciate your three or four rows of captains here today. I sincerely hope it was not intended as an intimidation factor – because it can be certainly interpreted as such,” Mitchell said.

“It’s sad to think anybody thinks they’re here to intimidate,” Luna responded. He said that the personnel present were members of his “law enforcement gang and hate groups committee.”

The Board of Supervisors itself has been the subject of intimidation efforts by LASD. Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva oversaw a raid on the home of then Supervisor Sheila Kuehl in 2022. Villanueva also repeatedly used sexist language while publicly discussing the Board during his term. Board Chair Hilda Solis spoke to this history during debate on the motion.

“That doesn’t just put fear in the community, but it puts fear in those elected officials. Especially because those attacks have been leveled against women,” Solis said.

Sworn LASD personnel are a unique type of worker as they are equipped with guns and the ability to detain and arrest anyone in Los Angeles County – even the Supervisors, who are tasked with overseeing their department.

Hahn said in an email that she did meet with Luna and the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff’s (ALADS) regarding the motion.

“While they had concerns, I do think everyone is aligned with the goal of eliminating deputy gangs,” she said.

Hahn said she did not feel any pressure to postpone the motion from the Sheriff, and that the plan to bifurcate it was hers.

“In fact, I did not have the idea until Tuesday during our public discussion,” she wrote.