Press Conference regarding public corruption in Los Angeles County
On Wednesday, October 19, 2022, Sheriff Alex Villanueva held a press conference to discuss public corruption in Los Angeles County and its relationship with the leaked tape of the Los Angeles Council members. The now infamous audio revealed racist, hurtful remarks but it also brought to light concerning issues that are not getting as much attention.
In the audio from the the notorious meeting, Nury Martinez talks about getting a phone call from LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis to help her get votes. “When she calls me about that _____, it’s because she wants me to help her get the votes. And I’m like, what? I’m not involving myself in your sham”, says Martinez.
The council members also discuss Measure H, the ¼-cent sales tax approved by Los Angeles County voters to prevent and address homelessness countywide, they question what former Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas did about homelessness. “You tell me what measure H has done? You tell me how many detox beds, how many mental facilities. You tell me, where are those beds that this tax was supposed to do?” says Martinez. Kevin de León adds that Riddley-Thomas “did nothing for 10 years.”
In a secondary clip from September 2022, former LA County Labor President Ron Herrera and Hanna Cho, an aide who previously worked with Mitch O’Farrell (now acting council president since Martinez resigned) discuss buying endorsements from Democratic Clubs. “We need to buy some of these larger clubs, we just need to buy them up. And then just take over them. And he’s like a lot of them are cheap. I don’t see why we can’t do that. LACYD, like the Young Dems, that’s the one you do need to buy. The LGBT one? You need to buy them off,” says Cho during the back-door negotiations.
“This is what we know, what do we not know? What conversations are going on behind closed doors with all the City Council and the Board of Supervisors trying to lever each other’s positions, basically to game it to their advantage. A sad moment for all the community,” said Villanueva.
In other news, former Assistant Sheriff Robin Limon was supposed to testify in a deposition to her lawsuit but decided not to do it. To further point out that lawsuits are being used to work against his election, he touched on the latest lawsuit by Lieutenant Joseph Garrido and pointed out that Garrido witnessed alleged misconduct and did not do anything until he was under investigation.
On Monday October 17, 2022, County Council went to court to try to enforce the subpoenas from the Oversight Commission and admitted to the judge that they wanted to squeeze two more before the elections, acknowledging that everything is done to influence the elections.
He concluded the press conference by addressing an incident that happened on Sunday, October 16, 2022, where South Los Angeles deputies were involved in a use of force incident with an armed suspect in the city of Inglewood. The suspect had a previous traumatic injury which he sustained in an unrelated incident prior to contact with LASD deputies. The suspect is a convicted felon and was arrested for being in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of (loaded) concealed firearm, assault on a peace officer with a firearm. The incident gained traction on social media but Sheriff Villanueva made everyone aware that the use of force is being investigated and appropriate action will be taken based on the results of the investigation.
