The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted Aug.2 without discussion to pass an ordinance that will be on the November ballot that will allow the board to remove a publicly elected county sheriff from office. The measure passed in a 4–1 vote, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger dissenting. “Giving the Board of Supervisors the authority to…

LOS ANGELES—Nearly a year after LA’s top cop Sheriff Alex Villanueva deployed his deputy homeless outreach team on the Venice Beach Boardwalk, Villanueva is eyeing Hollywood as the next location to clear out homeless encampments. “It’s going to be a collaborative effort, we’re gonna make sure that place is spotless and suitable for people to…

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is offering to have his deputies help clean the streets of Hollywood, which have been overrun in recent years by homeless encampments. “The Los Angeles County Sheriff has plans to make Hollywood feel safer despite it not being [LA Sheriff’s Department’s] patrol area,” the department wrote on Twitter…

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva slammed County supervisors during a press conference on Wednesday for continuing a hiring freeze on the department amid a deputy shortage. “This is not sustainable at any level,” Villanueva said at the Hall of Justice on March 9. “People literally are going to die on the streets for lack…

Los Angeles law enforcement reported sharp increases in murders and robberies as a bevy of crimes continues to hit the area. The county has seen a 94 percent increase in homicides in 2021, compared to 2019, according to Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva. The pandemic-related crime increases are not unique to LA County, but the…

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón’s office claims it was not consulted by the sheriff’s department before federal charges were filed in the robbery and shooting death of an LA police officer this week. The Los Angeles County sheriff filed federal racketeering charges Jan. 13 in the death of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)…

LOS ANGELES—Four people have now been arrested in connection with the shooting death of an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer, authorities said Jan. 12. The officer, 27-year-old Fernando Arroyos, a three-year veteran of the LAPD, was shot about 9:15 p.m. Monday in an apparent exchange of gunfire with as many as three armed…

LOS ANGELES—Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s campaign for reelection has raised more than $1.25 million, it was announced Jan. 7. His campaign has about $1 million on hand and has raised more than $900,000 in 2021. Villanueva was elected as Los Angeles County Sheriff in 2018 and ran a campaign of “reform, rebuild and restore.” Villanueva’s campaign…

Los Angeles law enforcement agencies reported hundreds of officers and staff were quarantined this week after testing positive for COVID-19. LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said 573 personnel were quarantined with five of those in the hospital. “That’s a big chunk of people,” Villanueva said on a Facebook livestream Jan. 5. “It’s not close to…

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles County sheriff has withdrawn his department from the county’s COVID-19 testing program citing concerns over the test company’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Sheriff Alex Villanueva informed county supervisors of his decision to withdraw from the program in a letter on Nov. 29. “This letter is to inform you…