LA Sheriff Threatens To 'Subject' City Council To 'Defamation Law' If They Won't Stop Calling His Deputies 'Gang Members'

from the pretty-much-the-legal-competence-you-would-expect-from-a-gang-leader dept

The man presiding over a law enforcement agency filled with gangs and cliques would prefer city officials stop referring to his employees as gang members.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has stated that there are no gangs within the Sheriff's Department, a claim he is obviously unable to back up with facts, because the facts make it clear that the LASD has been (and apparently still is) home to multiple gangs composed of deputies. There's even a Wikipedia page dedicated to the gangs infesting the Sheriff's Department.

If you distrust the info on the anyone-can-edit Wikipedia page, there's also this comprehensive database compiled by journalist Cerise Castle for Knock LA -- one that pulls info from public records and court documents to list suspected and verified members of LASD gangs.

Sheriff Villanueva continues to claim there are no gangs within his department. He has also instituted a policy to address the problem he says doesn't exist, forbidding deputies from "joining any group that commits misconduct." You'd think this policy would forbid any deputy from being employed by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, but I guess that's not how Villanueva reads his edict.

As for Villanueva's claim gangs and cliques don't exist within his department? Well, let's take a look at what his employees say:

Hundreds of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said they have been recruited to join secretive, sometimes gang-like cliques that operate within department stations, according to the findings of a survey by independent researchers.

The anticipated study into the problematic fraternities — which L.A. County officials commissioned the Rand Corp. to conduct in 2019 — found 16% of the 1,608 deputies and supervisors who anonymously answered survey questions had been invited to join a clique, with some invitations having come in the last five years.

Well, all evidence to the contrary aside, Sheriff Villanueva is no longer going to stand idly by while city officials continue to make accurate statements about his problematic agency. He's issued a… well, not really a "cease and desist" letter [PDF] to the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors demanding (but not really) they stop saying his department has a gang problem. (h/t Adam Steinbaugh)

The letter is a fun read, even more so because Sheriff Villanueva definitely did not want his vaguely threatening fluff to be considered enjoyable for all the wrong reasons. Behold the semi-coherent wrath of a pissed off public servant.

As the elected Sheriff of Los Angeles County, I demand you and other elected leaders, as well as your appointees, immediately cease and desist from using the derogatory term “deputy gangs” when referring to members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (Department). This willful defamation of character has injured both individuals and the organization. It also serves no purpose other than to fuel hatred and increase the probability of assault and negative confrontations against our people.

So, it looks like a cease-and-desist (it even uses the words!), but the Sheriff has no power to make this demand. And Villanueva is hopefully using the phrase "defamation of character" in the colloquial, no-relation-to-the-legal-meaning sense of the words, because there's plenty of evidence out there that would make any accusations about LASD gangs "substantially true" and, therefore, not defamation at all. I know we (and by "we," I mostly mean courts) don't expect law enforcement officers to be legal experts, which is good, I guess, because they clearly fucking aren't.

The letter continues in the same vein: Villanueva bitching, mostly ineffectively, that it's unfair to his department when city officials say bad things about him and his employees. The next paragraph of the letter basically says the Sheriff's Department has all the heroes and the Board of Supervisors has all the hypocritical assholes.

My personnel routinely place themselves in harm's way while serving our community and ask nothing in return, other than a paycheck and maybe a little respect for the tough job they perform. Elected officials have no problem attending the funeral of a peace officer killed in the line of duty and often fight for the opportunity to speak at the podium, but the manner in which some have enthusiastically branded my personnel as "gang members” every opportunity they get is disgusting.

It is completely possible for officials to show their respect for an officer killed in the line of duty while still suspecting the law enforcement agency they work for is home to groups of officers who commit serious misconduct while engaging in gang-like behavior: violent acts, tattoos/clothing/insignias/etc., codes of silence, et al. You know, just like it's possible for officers of the law to recognize the War on Drugs harms more than it helps.

According to the sheriff's letter, the only reason board members might refer to deputies as gang members stems from a dismissed lawsuit brought by a former LASD deputy. The letter claims this is the only "evidence" anyone has ever had and that other research arriving at the same conclusions is completely undermined because a single source of information was declared to be untrustworthy by a court decision. That willfully ignores the years of data that shows deputies have formed cliques/gangs within the department. And while that may not be the sole contributing factor to large amounts of misconduct, it certainly hasn't helped neutralize the "us vs. them" mentality that is the root of so many casual abuses of rights.

From there it gets truly laughable, with Sheriff Villanueva again demonstrating his inability to understand speech-related laws before claiming that referring to LASD gangs is actually a form of bigotry.

Those who want to further undermine the perception of law enforcement use it as hate speech to promote their own agendas, such as defunding law enforcement and redirecting those funds to their own non-profit organizations, many of which are nothing more than sham corporations who operate with virtually zero accountability. Further use of the term will be evidence of your actual underlying intent, which appears to be a campaign to inflict harm upon the reputation of the Department and myself.

First off, calling someone a gang member or implying there are gangs in the LASD isn't hate speech. It's not even hate speech in the most ignorant sense of the word. Speech someone doesn't like is not hate speech, and that's all that's really happening here. The Sheriff and his deputies aren't a protected class, nor is being employed by the LASD an immutable characteristic that can trigger hate crime laws when derogatory language is used. The rest of this is no less stupid. "Further use… will be evidence of your actual underlying intent" to harm the Department. Whatever. This isn't legally binding and further use will be evidence of nothing.

So very stupid.

As the first fluently Spanish speaking Latino Sheriff in over a hundred years, who supervises a majority Latino workforce, I hope you can see the blatant racial inferences your conscious bias displays every time you choose to attack our Department with this derogatory term.

Um, people were saying the LASD was gang-infested long before you took office, Sheriff. That they're still saying it doesn't reflect on you or your multilingual skills. All it says is that the problem persists and it's now your problem, Sheriff.

Finally, the Sheriff appears to believe this somehow is a valid legal threat, despite the fact he's unlikely to prevail in a defamation lawsuit against city council members. Here's how the letter wraps up:

I openly challenge every elected leader, or their appointees, to provide facts to me and name individuals who they can prove are "gang members," as defined by California Penal Code Section 13670, and subject yourself to defamation laws if wrong.

LOL. Well, this shouldn't be too hard. Here's the relevant part of the California Code:

"Law enforcement gang" means a group of peace officers within a law enforcement agency who may identify themselves by a name and may be associated with an identifying symbol, including, but not limited to, matching tattoos, and who engage in a pattern of on-duty behavior that intentionally violates the law or fundamental principles of professional policing, including, but not limited to, excluding, harassing, or discriminating against any individual based on a protected category under federal or state antidiscrimination laws, engaging in or promoting conduct that violates the rights of other employees or members of the public, violating agency policy, the persistent practice of unlawful detention or use of excessive force in circumstances where it is known to be unjustified, falsifying police reports, fabricating or destroying evidence, targeting persons for enforcement based solely on protected characteristics of those persons, theft, unauthorized use of alcohol or drugs on duty, unlawful or unauthorized protection of other members from disciplinary actions, and retaliation against other officers who threaten or interfere with the activities of the group.

To sum up: the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is a gang associated with an identifying symbol that engages in all of the listed behavior. Therefore, it should be declared illegal under state law and disbanded.

There are few things more enjoyable than sternly-worded letters that are 50% bluster, 50% unintentionally hilarious. Recipients of this letter should take the Sheriff up on his dare and let him know just how many bad apples he's overseeing. If nothing else, council members should send Villanueva a "Thanks for the laugh. I really needed that." in response to his declaration of keyboard war.

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Filed Under: alex villanueva, cease and desist, defamation, deputy gangs, gangs, hate speech, la, lasd


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  1. icon
    That One Guy (profile), 22 Feb 2022 @ 9:34am

    That'll teach 'em

    City and anyone else watching: 'The LA sherrif department is filled with a bunch of gang members.'

    LA county sheriff Alex Villanueva: 'How dare you, just for that I'm going to send a blustery 'retract that or things will go badly for you' letter, a threat will clearly demonstrate that we are not a bunch of criminals in uniforms!'

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Feb 2022 @ 11:06am

    Good luck overcoming qualified immunity (elected officers conducting official business), Sheriff. The shoe is on the other foot, eh?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Feb 2022 @ 11:39am

    You heard it here, folks!

    My personnel routinely place themselves in harm's way while serving our community and ask nothing in return, other than a paycheck and maybe a little respect for the tough job they perform.

    Sheriff Villanueva has made it clear: they only need a paycheck and a 'little respect.' Therefore, they no longer need:

    • Qualified Immunity
    • Special treatment in misconduct investigations.
    • Military-grade weapons and equipment.

    Your honesty, sir, is a credit to your profession.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Feb 2022 @ 11:43am

    If it walks like a gang, talks like like a gang, violates people's rights like a gang then guess what sheriff?

    IT'S A FUCKING GANG.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. icon
    lorgskyegon (profile), 22 Feb 2022 @ 11:50am

    So what the Sheriff is saying

    Is that all those people wrongly put in the police/sheriff gang database have a clear defamation lawsuit against the police and sheriff departments who put them there?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. icon
    That Anonymous Coward (profile), 22 Feb 2022 @ 11:59am

    "He has also instituted a policy to address the problem he says doesn't exist, forbidding deputies from "joining any group that commits misconduct.""

    So once they join the force they are no longer on the force?
    This is very confusing.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Pixelation, 22 Feb 2022 @ 12:24pm

    Okay

    Stop calling them gang members. Now, please refer to them as gang leaders.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. icon
    cattress (profile), 22 Feb 2022 @ 2:48pm

    DARVO

    I can't be racist, I'm bilingual!
    Is this the new "I have a Black friend?"

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. icon
    jvbattlewood (profile), 22 Feb 2022 @ 3:13pm

    A question of definition.

    A chocolate covered, creme filled turd with sprinkles is still a turd.
    Saying otherwise is unlikely to enhance your reputation.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    CyberKender, 22 Feb 2022 @ 3:43pm

    To steal an old meme...

    "One can respect the sacrifice required for the position while still holding police to a high standard."

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. icon
    Toom1275 (profile), 22 Feb 2022 @ 5:00pm

    "True facts are defamatory!"

    Jhon Smith, is that you?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. icon
    Bergman (profile), 22 Feb 2022 @ 8:11pm

    Re: So what the Sheriff is saying

    Oh, it’s BETTER than that. Not only is it defamation to falsely claim something like that about people in a way that can cause actual harm (physical, financial and reputational), the fact that it’s TRUE is an absolute defense. And court records are public records.

    If he takes this to court he risks creating an official declaration in public records that his deputies are in fact members of criminal gangs. Because the best defense in a defamation case is the fact the statements were true, and the discovery phase would be BRUTAL for him.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    Peter, 23 Feb 2022 @ 12:27am

    What I didn't hear.......

    Was a denial by Villanueva that there were gangs on his force.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. icon
    drew (profile), 23 Feb 2022 @ 5:49am

    Re: So what the Sheriff is saying

    Another day, another opportunity to say thank you to James Whitcomb Riley. :)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. icon
    That Anonymous Coward (profile), 23 Feb 2022 @ 6:12am

    Re: DARVO

    They don't have a black freind, but their wives have 2 black eyes.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2022 @ 7:24am

    the truth hurts and it's obvious what is the truth here. perhaps going to court would be the best thing, bring everything to a head and out in the open. wonder if he would continue to deny things then?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. icon
    Lostinlodos (profile), 23 Feb 2022 @ 11:52am

    Definition

    a group of persons having informal and usually close social relations.

    ~MWCD

    Case dismissed

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. icon
    jvbattlewood (profile), 23 Feb 2022 @ 12:25pm

    Barking Dogs

    Blowing hot air on an ember is an excellent way of building a fire.
    This is nothing but theater. Sheriff Villanueva knows full well what manner of conflagration a lawsuit would generate.
    Particularly, in the unlikely event of it's making it as far as an actual trial.
    That sort of attention and interest brings a level of microscopic scrutiny he and his department can ill afford.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. icon
    DeComposer (profile), 23 Feb 2022 @ 1:40pm

    Maybe we should try the corporate solution

    These are the raw-meat capitalist bunch, right? So subject them to raw-meat capitalist rules: use the methods that corporations routinely employ to rid themselves of dead wood and other undesirables.

    Slightly reduce the LASD budget (or reprioritize how it's allocated), and then eliminate the positions occupied by Sheriff Villanueva and the most obvious gang members as a cost-cutting move.

    You can always reorg later and add those positions back, but not without a formal interview process that will pre-emptively weed out the undesirables.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2022 @ 4:02pm

    ...redirecting those funds to their own non-profit organizations, many of which are nothing more than sham corporations who operate with virtually zero accountability.

    Well, if saying the LASD has a gang problem is defamation...

    link to this | view in thread ]


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