LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to reconsider how to ensure safety in county parks following Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s announcement that he will close the department’s Parks Bureau, provoking the sheriff to accuse the board of “defunding” the LASD.
However, according to county lawyers, Villanueva may have “defunded” his own department, because closing the bureau will free up the roughly $24 million allocated to that group that could now be used to hire a third-party contractor.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger — who said the sheriff left her with “no choice” but to vote for a review of park services — suggested that Villanueva consult with his captains, who are trained to understand how the county budget works.
Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Janice Hahn recommended considering a safety strategy “better aligned with the board’s vision for public safety and justice,” which could include a community policing model working alongside sheriff’s deputies and/or hiring unarmed staff trained in crisis response and violence prevention strategies to patrol parks.
Ridley-Thomas would also like to see more money for youth programs.
“Youth programming has not been the priority for this sheriff that it should be,” he said.
Barger said she hoped that the review by the county CEO and parks, mental health and public health departments would result in a recommendation to continue working in partnership with LASD.
“I do not believe it is wise to make long-term changes based on current personalities,” Barger said. “I believe the Parks Bureau is doing an incredible job and is quite frankly being used as a pawn by this sheriff.”
Barger noted that the county’s Office of Public Safety provided security at parks and hospitals until 2009, when a decision was made to merge OPS with LASD to professionalize the force.
Hahn remarked that county parks were not always as safe as they are now.
During comments made to the board in advance of the vote, Villanueva mocked the idea of hiring unarmed personnel, saying “good luck with that with an armed gang member who wants to shoot people in the park.”
The sheriff said he was forced into the decision to close the Parks Bureau, which he apparently did without any discussion with the Department of Parks and Recreation.
“The county budget overall is increasing, while the sheriff’s budget is decreasing. There is no fat left to trim anywhere,” Villanueva said. “Everything we do we’re going to be consolidating, we’re going to be shifting funds where we can to make sure we’re affording essential services.”
Acting County CEO Fesia Davenport said the sheriff planned to redeploy more than 100 deputies as well as non-sworn personnel working in the Parks Bureau to custody operations, but asserted that he has no legal authority to do so.
The LASD did not immediately respond to a request for an explanation of the need for more custody deputies at a time when the jail population has been significantly decreased to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
However, Villanueva said during his comments to the board that the CEO’s freeze on custody positions would otherwise force him to close the South Facility at Pitchess Detention Center and transfer inmates.
The sheriff also sent a letter to the board just prior to the meeting, according to Supervisor Hilda Solis. County Counsel Mary Wickham said the sheriff claimed not to be able to comply with various consent decrees related to jail violence and other issues without more custody staff.
“That’s just not accurate. Our most recent reports from the various court monitors has overall suggested that we’re in compliance,” Wickham said. “The sheriff seems to be making an issue out of something conveniently that the facts just don’t support.”
During public discussion of the parks motion, advocates called for deputies to be pulled from hospitals, as well, citing the recent shooting of a patient by a deputy at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Community organizer Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson said many medical providers had sent letters to the board.
“They’ve seen the way sheriffs intimidate their patients, threaten doctors and nurses into providing them with information that they should not have access to … and aggravate crisis,” Clayton-Johnson said, urging the board to “ensure that our places of care remain safe spaces for our Black and brown communities.”
The sheriff promised more details on the Harbor-UCLA shooting Wednesday, though it wasn’t immediately clear in what forum. His department originally reported that deputies from the South Los Angeles Station were working a security detail at the hospital when they were alerted that a patient was breaking equipment and tried to smash a window with a metal medical device. When he entered a private room where a patient was being guarded by a deputy and tried to attack that patient, he was shot, according to a statement issued by the hospital.
Ridley-Thomas previewed a motion calling for an investigation into the Oct. 6 shooting. The board will consider the matter at its next meeting.
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Magnetlady says
I was a member of ”Los Angeles County Park Police” as a Mounted Police Officer.. We attended an academy & had P.O.S.T. 832 training, along with ”Mounted Horse Training” with LASD… We wore a badge & carried a gun ”on duty” only… The problem with ”unarmed” hired security is that they’ll be wearing a ‘Uniform” to identify themselves, & they’ll be a ”TARGET” for some unscrupulous people.. They should be certified & armed in this day & age, IMHO. Sheriff’s Dept. has a volunteer Mounted Unit as well & are required to go thru a LOT of training along with background checks. Not everyone will pass these requirements. Some people only want to put on a uniform to show ”Authority”… You must know what your authority allows & to work within the laws of the State..
AV Illegal says
Reinstate the County Park Police. They were a thing in the 80’s. They were no part of the Sheriff’s Department. Let them do their thing in the parks without “gawking” at Alby.
They were absorbed into the Sheriff’s Department much like the County Marshall’s office. Split them both back apart.
Alby says
Sure I can agree, but with the lack of fundings that they’re complaining about, I’d say a well regulated and self supportive militia would be the next best thing. The point is to not judge a book by its color. Legal Accountability would obviously have to be a Must. The pay would be lousy if any but I’m sure many would love to participate in keeping the parks safe for children and many others from nonsense.
Alby says
I don’t mind the idea of non sworn personel gaurding a park from gangs and predators but I WON’T have any stupid idiotic george zimmermans breathing down my neck as I’m taking a leisure walk around a park, hopping around and eating a bag of skittles. I don’t need predatorial buttfaces gawking at me in suspicion just because I’m walking alone in a public park at any particular time that I choose.
Loam says
Hiring unarmed security guards would likely be ok for most of the work that needs to be done, but what happens when these unarmed rent-a-cops run into opposition, like armed gangs or predators with knives?
The lack of police leads to armed neighborhood watch people, aka idiotic george zimmermans. Ironically, pushing for defunding the policy will make armed, untrained neighborhood people step into the vacuum. It’s a downward spiral.
Alby says
Having unarmed gaurds on the look out for potential gang activity or criminals is a bad idea as said by the sheriff. I’m pretty sure that there is training involved for those that volunteer as well as accountability. I am all for it but I’m sure you wouldn’t want someone breathing down your neck wondering what you’re doing and why you’re here at this particular time at a public park. I personally have dealt with small time security gaurds with giant sticks up their hind end, using their position to intimidate and make me feel out of place only to find out later that they got fired for selling drugs and harassing woman. That was years ago but I’m very sure nonsense still goes around. As long as their is accountability by law enforcement And the PUBLIC, I think it’s a good idea. Its a downward spiral for “gun toting hip gangster wannabees” as long as it doesn’t violate the law-abiding public individuals trust.