Members of a Los Angeles County oversight panel expressed outrage Monday, July 25, at Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s repeated refusal to comply with subpoenas ordering him to testify about the alleged existence of violent deputy gangs unless his specific conditions are met.
Villanueva said in a letter Sunday to Brian K. Williams, executive director of the Los Angeles County Oversight Commission, that he would be willing to testify if he is permitted to review evidence in advance, cross-examine witnesses and use a neutral hearing officer.
“If the real goal is to conduct impartial oversight in search of the truth and free of any political agendas, then at a minimum, the commission should seek my support in establishing appropriate protocols,” he wrote in the letter. “I was deeply disappointed to learn the commission is unwilling to allow very basic and reasonable elements of a legitimate oversight meeting designed to understand the truth.”
Villanueva, who has been a political thorn in the side of the county Board of Supervisors, has repeatedly described the commission as biased.
“It makes neutral observers question whether the commission’s real agenda is to learn the facts, or to put on a show,” he wrote in the letter. “I would also call attention to the fact on several occasions, the documents presented by the commission were clearly altered or manufactured.”
Villanueva said that once his demands are met, he will willingly meet with the commission. The demands, he said “in no way interfere with the commission’s ability to ask questions, learn the truth, or fulfill its oversight role.”
The oversight commission has filed documents with Los Angeles County Superior Court asking that Villanueva and Undersheriff Timothy Murakami be held in contempt for ignoring several subpoenas compelling them to testify.
Commissioner Robert Bonner described as laughable Villanueva’s letter stating that every “public servant must be open to public scrutiny and legitimate oversight,” given his refusal to cooperate with the probe.
The letter is further evidence of Villanueva’s disdain for the investigation, Commissioner Lael Rubin said. “It is a repeat of his outrageous and clear intention … to never appear before this commission,” Rubin said.
East L.A. station deputy gang
In a videotaped deposition viewed Monday by the commission, retired Sheriff’s Department Division Chief Joseph Gooden recounted how he had worked diligently to root out the Banditos, an alleged violent deputy gang that controls the East L.A. station, only to have those efforts symbolically mocked the day Villanueva took office.
Former Sheriff Jim McDonnell had banned a controversial logo used by the East L.A. station that branded itself as Fort Apache, after the 1948 Western film depicting a lone outpost in Apache territory, Gooden said.
The logo was established following altercations between East L.A. deputies and anti-Vietnam protesters during the so-called 1970 Chicano Moratorium. It was featured prominently at the East L.A. station but later removed by McDonnell, who found it oppressive, divisive and not accurately reflecting the Sheriff’s Department’s mission.
“It was very offensive to the sheriff,” Gooden said. “He wanted to come up with a more progressive logo.”
Immediately after Villanueva was sworn in on Dec. 3, 2018, the controversial logo returned to the East L.A. station, prompting a celebration among deputies stationed there, according to media reports.
Gooden, who was not available to testify in person, said he also encountered deputy gangs while serving as a watch commander at the Men’s Central Jail. He told the commission that deputies who dubbed themselves as the “2,000 or 3,000 boys” — named after the cellblocks where they worked — would stage “gladiator” events.
“They were pitting these inmates together, staging these fights and wagering on these fights,” Gooden said in the deposition. “This came to our attention and we were able to do a deeper dive into that. And it turned out that the allegations had merit and subsequently there were appropriate investigations that were initiated.”
Commissioners asked Gooden why Villanueva and his administration have refused to tackle the obvious problem of deputy gangs.
“The reluctance (from the administration) has always been that, ‘We can control this,’ ” he replied. “But if this is left unattended, it’s like cancer. If you don’t cut out the cancer cell, cancer will grow.”
Monday’s hearing marked the fourth held by the commission. Last month, a former top aide to Villaneuva testified that he once belonged to the purported Grim Reaper gang while serving at the Lennox station. The commission is expected to meet again next month.