Earlier this year, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was selected as a government sector placement for the current class of Coro Fellows (https://corola.org/).
As a placement location, the Department was expected to host a Coro fellowship recipient for the duration of one month and provide the designated Fellow with the opportunity to work, think critically, and interview key role players on the Department. The goal that the Department set was to have the Coro Fellow learn about government through the unique lens of County-level law enforcement.
The designated Coro Fellow, Luis, arrived on January 9, 2023 and hit the ground running—quite literally. Spending his first three days on ride-alongs, jail tours, and meetings with specialized units, Luis very quickly acclimated to the 24/hour nature of the Department. Posted to Sheriff’s Information Bureau, the public and media relations branch of the Department, Luis frequently met with Public Information Officers, toured the Department Operations Center, and sat in on many press conferences. He composed speaking points, edited brochures for the public, and helped analyze data from recent graduations.
Over the course of the month, Luis met Audit and Accountability Bureau, comprised of auditors who ensure that the Department meets government standards in policies and procedures. He sat with the Bureau of Compliance, Intake Specialist Unit, to learn about the Policy of Equity and how violations by personnel are investigated and corrected. At the Sheriff’s Communication Center, Luis listened in on calls with seasoned dispatchers. In between his duties at Sheriff’s Information Bureau, he observed the training of Academy classes in session at STARS Center, toured the Crime Lab, flew with Aero Bureau, spent a day responding to calls with the Mental Evaluation Team, and had a conference call with the Legislative Unit while they were in Sacramento. Luis even had the opportunity to have other Coro Fellows join him on an eye-opening tour of the Inmate Reception Center, where over 100,000 inmates are processed into and out of the jail system every year.
An important stop during Luis’ placement was a meeting with the elite detectives of Homicide Bureau. Tragically, two days later, the same bureau he had interviewed were called to handle the Monterey Park mass casualty incident. As the incident unfolded and the investigation ensued, Luis saw how information from the scene was gathered and how emergent press conferences were put together—sometimes late into the night. He observed firsthand multiple layers of government and law enforcement working together to provide accurate information to the public on very short deadlines.
Sheriff Luna and Undersheriff Tardy both met with Luis, and enjoyed open, affable conversations with the Fellow. Sheriff Luna’s emphasis on transparency and leadership were a terrific fit for Luis and the expectations of the Coro program. The leadership accelerator nature of the Coro program went hand in hand with the fast-paced, ever-evolving nature of law enforcement.
Luis was the 5th Coro Fellow hosted by LASD, and we look forward to the opportunity to host future emerging leaders!
