LOS ANGELES _ Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, whose two-month-old administration has already been entangled in controversy, delivered a state-of-the-department address Wednesday that included sharp criticism of his predecessors as well as the consequences of some past reforms.
In remarks billed as setting a vision for the organization, Villanueva emphasized the effect of previous policy decisions relating to staffing, discipline and violence in the department's vast jail system.
"There is a need for transparency and accountability in order to regain the public's trust in this organization," Villanueva said at a news conference. "Today is our first step towards this effort."
Villanueva pointed to graphs showing that assaults on staff, inmate-on-inmate assaults and use-of-force in the jails increased after his predecessor, Jim McDonnell, took office, calling some of the reforms a "social experiment" that backfired and put lives at risk.
"Literally, someone thought it was a good idea to tell their deputies to put their hands in their pockets, and that somehow was going to lead to a better outcome. The exact opposite happened," Villanueva said. "We ended up with higher levels of force by the deputies because now they're responding to greater and greater incidences of inmate assaults on staff."
The department was upended in scandal and subject to sweeping reforms after a federal probe found widespread abuse of inmates in county jails. On the campaign trail, however, Villanueva asserted that some reforms went too far in handicapping deputies' ability to defend themselves. He said he would consider allowing deputies to use metal flashlights in the jails as a self-defense measure.
Citing department statistics, the Los Angeles Times has previously reported that significant force by deputies _ incidents causing any type of injury _ was down last year by 60 percent from 2009, when it hit its highest point in nearly a decade. A federal court monitor overseeing consent decrees in the jails, as well as watchdogs, have agreed that the most severe, bone-breaking injuries that had been happening have nearly vanished.
Assistant Sheriff Bob Olmsted, who blew the whistle about jail abuse several years ago and was brought back by Villanueva to oversee the custody division, said at the news conference that significant injuries including ones with broken bones seem to have been curtailed in the jails.
In a statement following the news conference, McDonnell said he had hesitated to speak early on about Villanueva's new administration because he wanted to give the new sheriff a chance.
"But we are seeing evidence that the department is losing hard-earned progress on many fronts," his statement said. McDonnell added that his administration's record was overseen by outside entities including the Inspector General, the Civilian Oversight Commission, the federal monitors, the Board of Supervisors, and community stakeholders, and he said Villanueva's claims should be independently fact-checked.
Villanueva spoke of harm that he says has been done to deputies in recent years by relieving them of duty in order to investigate them, and as a result, spending money on deputies who were not working. He also said morale was so low that deputies would say they were injured in order to not come to work, which was also a drain on expenses.
"The previous administration treated our employees as if they were disposable liabilities," Villanueva said, at times reading off teleprompters.
The news conference came a day after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors issued a stunning reprimand to Villanueva that called his judgment into question and set off a political crisis for his fledgling administration.
The supervisors approved a motion asking Villanueva to reconsider his decision to reinstate a deputy who had been fired in connection with allegations of domestic abuse and who served as a volunteer on his campaign. The motion also seeks clarification on how the board can legally navigate conflicts with the sheriff.
Part of the address Wednesday was devoted to defending the reinstatement of Caren Carl Mandoyan. Chief Steve Gross, who oversees South Patrol, said he helped conduct a factual analysis of Mandoyan's case, finding that it did not merit termination. He said some of the allegations against Mandoyan were founded, while some were not.
Contrary to what Villanueva told the supervisors on Tuesday, Gross said Mandoyan decided not to waive his rights to the confidentiality of his file after all. It is unclear whether the supervisors will be able to review the file, as they requested.
Following up on a campaign promise, Villanueva said he was issuing a directive that by Friday, all U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be prohibited from entering any Sheriff's Department facilities to conduct civil immigration matters.
