May Thursday with the League

Recap: Inspector General Huntsman on the L.A. County Sheriff's Department

IG Max Huntsman discussed LASD's record of accountability at May's Thursday with the League.  LWV-PA President Martha Zavala was our host. Important questions discussed by Inspector General Huntsman during his Zoom presentation included the following:On May 5, 2022, the Policing Practices Subcommittee of the Social Justice Committee hosted Los Angeles County Inspector General Max Huntsman, who spoke on the topic "Is the Nation's Largest Sheriff's Department Accountable to the Public?" The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) provides independent and comprehensive oversight, monitoring of, and reporting about the L.A. County Sheriff's Department (LASD) and L.A. County Probation Department. It serves as the investigative arm of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission (COC) and Probation Oversight Commission.

• To whom does the sheriff need to be accountable?
• Is there evidence of a lack of accountability by Sheriff Villanueva?
• Are there so-called "deputy gangs" operating within LASD?
• If so, what role does Sheriff Villanueva play related to the gangs?
• How does Sheriff Villanueva respond to subpoenas from the COC?
• What is a "constitutional sheriff"?

In addition to addressing these questions, Mr. Huntsman stated that the sheriff needs to be accountable to the COC, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, and the public. Huntsman stated that the sheriff continually defies court orders; hence the OIG goes to court and gets subpoenas. Unfortunately, Huntsman reported, the sheriff defies the subpoenas and is "committing misconduct at a Mach 1 pace"; the court process cannot keep up. Huntsman expressed the hope that perhaps in ten years things will be better. He expressed confidence, however, that ultimately the courts - the law - will prevail.

He directed the audience to stay abreast of what is happening with the LASD. He opened the Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) website, at https://oig.lacounty.gov, during the presentation to show where there is a section entitled Unlawful Conduct by the Sheriff/LASD as well as a separate section on Deputy Gangs.

Huntsman discussed the evidence of many illegal actions by the current sheriff, including his rehiring a "political crony" who had been fired by the LASD prior to Villanueva's term as sheriff. This person had been in a deputy gang known as the Grim Reapers. Huntsman wrote a report on this rehiring and its illegality. Huntsman said that Villanueva was so angry about this report that he now considers Huntsman "Public Enemy number 37" noting that the sheriff has been conducting a criminal investigation of him for years.

Deputy gangs have been "deeply embedded" in the LASD for approximately fifty years, Huntsman noted. Whereas some of the LASD hierarchy over the years have made an effort to clear out the gangs and Villanueva "did indeed create a policy that on its face says it will get rid of gangs", he has not enforced it. Villanueva is, according to Huntsman, "aggressively protecting the deputy gangs." He also mentioned the sheriff's coverup of the Banditos' gang activity in LASD, including Bandito deputies who "beat down" other deputies in the department.

A question arose about constitutional sheriffs. Huntsman described a movement in America that is focused on how to interpret the law. The idea of constitutional sheriffs is associated with a "hard-right movement" which, as Huntsman put it, "holds that the Supreme Court, all the courts, all the elected officials . . . [have] just gone astray and they don't understand what the Constitution means, only sheriffs do. . . ." Constitutional sheriffs, by this theory, effectively become the "embodiment of the law,"accountable to the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions but not to state or federal law. Huntsman stated that "he [Sheriff Villanueva] has adopted the concept that he is above the law and that . . . people who say otherwise are saying so for political reasons. . . ."

We encourage you to view the entire video of Huntsman's presentation on the LWV-PA website. Zavala and Huntsman both stressed the importance of citizens staying abreast of current affairs, informing themselves about their elected officials, and voting. "Democracy is not a spectator sport," Zavala reminded the audience. They agreed that citizens must inform themselves, read reports on the OIG website, compare other sources, listen to all the candidates, and then vote. As Huntsman put it, ". . . if you don't get involved, you get the government you deserve."

Note: The persistent oversight focus on deputy gangs by the COC, OIG, and others has resulted in new state legislation that, as of January 1, 2022, requires a law enforcement agency to have a written policy forbidding agency personnel from participating in a "law enforcement gang" and to authorize termination of anyone who does. This is how the work of oversight can result in active change. LWV-PA has a role to play in civilian oversight of LASD. If you are interested in becoming a League observer at the COC's monthly Zoom meetings, please contact me.

—  Kris Ockershauser, Chair, Policing Practices Subcommittee, kmopas [at] earthlink.net (
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—Toni Cavanagh Johnson, Policing Practices Subcommittee