Luna could make a world of difference at LASD

There’s a new sheriff in town. Sheriff Alex Villanueva conceded, Tuesday afternoon, to his opponent, former Long Beach Police department chief Robert Luna.

It’s been a week since the polls closed and Luna retained a lead over Villanueva the entire time, as ballots were counted.

This seems like a breath of fresh air and the opportunity for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which has seen its fair share of controversy, to turn over a new leaf.

During his one term as the leader of the nation’s largest sheriff’s department, Villanueva regularly made headlines because of his clashing with members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the media. In fact, his regular conflicts with the Board of Supervisors led to Measure A making its way onto the ballot, last Tuesday.

The measure grants the Board of Supervisors the ability to remove the elected sheriff for cause by a four-fifths vote. The measure passed.

Now Luna will take over the sheriff’s department and has plenty to do as he tries to bring together what many consider to be an agency that’s fractured.

Luna, who grew up in East Los Angeles, is a former teenage reserve officer who rose through the ranks to lead the second largest municipal police department in Los Angeles County, according to news reports. He was appointed as the Long Beach police chief, in 2014, and served in that position for seven years.

He brought body-worn cameras into the department and implemented an early warning system to identify problem officers, according to news reports. He also started an office of constitutional policing in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. He claims to have reduced police shootings by department officers by 50% between 2015 and 2020.

Luna said in a news report that although he does not agree with all of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón’s policies, he doesn’t support the recall effort.

That didn’t seem to make a difference when voters went to the polls, though. Maybe they just wanted change. Or maybe they were tired of the controversy in which the LASD seems to be constantly embroiled.

One of the main issues that has plagued LASD is the allegation the “deputy gangs” exist — a claim that Villanueva has repeatedly denied. Luna’s supporters are confident that he can rid the department of the gangs and work with the Board of Supervisors — another area in which his predecessor has had issues.

Villanueva has defied requests from the Board of Supervisors for information about his department and ignored multiple subpoenas by the county’s sheriff’s watchdog commission, according to news reports.

We sincerely hope that Luna can make positive, needed changes within the department.