‘They Live In This Woke Palace’: Los Angeles Sheriff Goes After Liberal DAs For Homicide Surge
'We need responsible district attorneys who are going to file their cases'
'Imminent threat to public safety': LA County sheriff warns vaccine mandate is causing 'mass exodus' in his department
Democratic Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has long decried the L.A. County Board of Supervisors' order requiring all county employees to be vaccinated — without exception. Earlier this month, Villanueva explained why he would not be enforcing the order among his own deputies: He can't afford to lose any additional deputies.
The sheriff noted that his department was already short-staffed by nearly 1,000 employees following what he said was a "politically motivated" hiring freeze following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
In a note to the public posted to his website Thursday, Sheriff Villanueva warned that the vaccination mandate has created a "mass exodus."
According to Villanueva, 20% to 30% of his workforce will no longer be available if the county sticks to its get-jabbed-or-hit-the-bricks policy — and it's something he warned county officials about long ago.
The posting also linked to a letter to the board of supervisors dated Oct. 28 that explained that, if he were to follow the board's mandate, he "could potentially lose 44 percent" of his workforce in one day.
"I cannot enforce reckless mandates that put the public's safety at risk," he told the board.
Now the warnings and "dangers" are becoming a reality for the sheriff's department with increased retirements, worker compensation claims, resignations, and fewer applicants for openings.
This, Villanueva said, will lead to a hike in violent crime, slower response times, and more.
From the sheriff's desk:
As homicides continued to rise, the Board of Supervisors voted to require all Los Angeles County employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face discipline, up to and including termination.
The Board's vaccination mandate is causing a mass exodus within the Department, which is an absolutely absurd result. I have repeatedly stated the dangers to public safety when 20%-30% of my workforce is no longer available to provide service, and those dangers are quickly becoming a reality. We are experiencing an increase in unscheduled retirements, worker compensation claims, employees quitting, and a reduction in qualified applicants. As a result, homicide rates will continue to rise, response times will increase, solve rates will diminish, arrests will decline, patrol services will significantly decline, and patrol stations will close.
A large part of our workforce who is close to retirement finds it easier to simply retire, than be forced into a decision which should be a personal choice. Other personnel who were called “heroes" for diligently working in service to the community during the pandemic, while other professions stayed home, have decided to finally get those surgeries they have been putting off for injuries sustained throughout their careers (knees, shoulders, back, etc.).
This unintended consequence to public safety was predictable. In the near future, unless something changes, the “defunded" and “de-staffed" Sheriff's Department will no longer be able to sustain the staffing levels required to maintain public safety at the status quo.
Villanueva noted that all of his personnel wear masks and are willing to take regular COVID tests, so firing them would make zero sense.
The sheriff, who is vaccinated, concluded his note to the public noting that taking the vaccine should be a personal choice and then urged constituents to call the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to voice their opinions.
"With the pandemic diminishing, there is no justification for the Board mandate; it is like putting up the storm windows after the storm has passed," Villanueva said in closing the post on his website.
LA County sheriff points out the obvious about new mask mandate, says officers won't enforce it
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced Friday that his agency will not enforce the new face mask mandate implemented by officials in Los Angeles County.
What is the background?
Los Angeles County health officials announced Thursday they would enact an indoor face mask mandate as COVID-19 cases surge.
"We're not where we need to be for the millions at risk of infection here in Los Angeles County, and waiting to do something will be too late, given what we're seeing," Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said.
The new mandate — which applies to everyone, even fully vaccinated individuals — will take effect at 11:59 p.m. Saturday.
More from KGO-TV:
County officials reinstated the mask mandate after nearly a week of more than 1,000 new daily cases every day. The figure has grown more than ten-fold in just the month since California lifted mask and social distancing rules. The day before California's reopening, June 14, the county reported 135 new cases, while on Friday the figure had spiked to 1,902 new cases. The rise is fueled in part by the more-contagious Delta variant, as well as continued resistance to vaccination. All of the COVID-19 patients in county-run hospitals are unvaccinated, officials say.
What did Villanueva say?
The Los Angeles County top cop revealed his agency would not waste resources enforcing the mandate that he said is not supported by science.
"Forcing the vaccinated and those who already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors is not backed by science and contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines," Villanueva said in a statement.
Villanueva added, however, that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will encourage voluntary compliance.
"The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) has authority to enforce the order, but the underfunded/defunded Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will not expend our limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance," Villanueva said. "We encourage the DPH to work collaboratively with the Board of Supervisors and law enforcement to establish mandates that are both achievable and supported by science."
What does the CDC say?
According to the most recent guidance published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fully vaccinated people can "resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic."
"Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing," the CDC guidance says, "except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance."
LA County sheriff blames 'defund the police,' progressive policies for murder, violent crime wave
Los Angeles County's top cop, Sheriff Alex Villanueva, says the far-left "defund the police" narrative and progressive officials are responsible for a worrying spike in violent crime.
What is the background?
Major cities across the U.S. have experienced a spike in violent crime this year.
In Los Angeles, for example, murders are up nearly 200%, Fox News reported. Through the first two months of 2021, there were 60 murders in Los Angeles County compared to just 21 during the same time period last year.
Portland is another major city experiencing a wave of homicide. There were 25 murders in Portland through the first three months of 2021 compared to just three during the same time period in 2020.
Other cities like New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, among others, are also plagued by soaring murder rates.
What did Villanueva say?
According to Villanueva, criminals emboldened by progressive law enforcement policies and the "defund the police" movement are behind the spike in violent crime.
Speaking with Fox News last Thursday, Villanueva specifically blamed new Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, the progressive lawman who has introduced quick reform to Los Angeles law enforcement after just months on the job.
"They need to really pick and choose very carefully because for them it's very easy to say, 'Oh yeah, all cops are bad,' and, 'Let's reform and defund the police,'" Villanueva said. "Yet they're the very first ones to pick up the 911 when someone's crawling over their back gate trying to get into their house."
Anything else?
The worrying direction of crime is not just new to 2021. In fact, violent crime, especially murder, was already particularly high in 2020.
"Last year, the United States tallied more than 20,000 murders — the highest total since 1995 and 4,000 more than in 2019. Preliminary FBI data for 2020 points to a 25% surge in murders — the largest single year increase since the agency began publishing uniform data in 1960," USA Today reported.
In fact, the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund found that murders rose and police activity dropped in cities where police were most criticized last year.
"This data confirms that in places where law enforcement saw the most resistance from community leaders and calls for less policing, we saw more homicides," LELDF president Jason Johnson said, the Washington Examiner reported.
"Progressive prosecutors made it clear that making arrests for drug and weapons crimes that will go unprosecuted only exposes officers to the risk of disciplinary action, lawsuits, and criminal prosecution. So, to mitigate that risk, police took a more passive approach," Johnson added.
LA County sheriff fires back at anti-police activists who said they hoped injured deputies died
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has a stern message for the anti-police activists who wished for the deaths of two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies who were ambushed while sitting in their patrol vehicle over the weekend.
What's the background?
As TheBlaze reported, shortly after the deputies were ambushed Saturday night, alleged Black Lives Matter activists stormed the hospital where the deputies were taken for emergency surgery.
Witnesses said they saw the protesters attempt to block hospital entrances and exists. Meanwhile, numerous social media videos showed the anti-police activists telling law enforcement officers outside the hospital that they hoped the injured officers would die; others even threatened that they would kill every police officer "one by one."
What did Villanueva say?
During an interview Tuesday on Fox News, Villanueva said those activists who shouted "we hope they die," referring to the injured officers, are "almost worthy of ISIS."
"It's just a new low for hatred that I don't think anyone in this nation has ever seen before, and it's something almost worthy of ISIS," Villanueva said.
"We just don't expect it on our own shores," he continued. "We have been here fighting to save people's lives across the county — it doesn't matter who you are. It is not something we are going to expect or tolerate."
Later in the interview, Villanueva also challenged Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, whom Villanueva has called on to match the reward money for Saturday's crime.
On Monday, Villanueva said publicly:
This challenge is to LeBron James. I want you to match that and double that reward. I know you care about law enforcement. You expressed a very interesting statement about your perspective on race relations and on officer-involved shootings and the impact that it has on the African American community. And I appreciated that. But likewise, we need to appreciate that respect for life goes across professions, across races, creeds, and I'd like to see LeBron James step up to the plate and double that.
During his interview on Fox News, Villanueva said James has not yet responded to him — but said the NBA superstar needs "to take some ownership of exactly what he said in terms of propagating the idea that people are being hunted everywhere because of the color of their skin."
James said in May, in response to uproar over the death of Ahmaud Arbery, that black people "literally hunted EVERYDAY/EVERYTIME we step foot outside the comfort of our homes!"
Villanueva said, "I think that is just flat out not the case."
"I think we need to hold those accountable for breaking the law, be it law enforcement when we are crossing the line," Villanueva added. "But then we have to acknowledge the bigger problem of violence overall and this ambush, cowardly ambush, of the two deputies just doing their own job, doing their business there in Compton, really illustrates that. That is the problem we need to address."
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