Leaves officials ‘shocked and surprised’
LOS ANGELES – After 15 years of being at the helm in “one of the largest law enforcement bodies west of the Mississippi,” (as described by LA police chief Charlie Beck) LA County Sheriff Lee Baca announced on Tuesday morning that he will be stepping down as chief of the LA County Sheriff’s Department (LASD).
“I am not going to seek re-election to a fifth term as Sheriff, and I will retire at the end of this month,” Baca said in a statement.
Baca, 71, said that his reasons for retiring are many, and that “some are most personal and private, but the prevailing on is the negative perception this upcoming campaign has brought to the exemplary service provided by the men and women of the Sheriff’s Department.”
“They have conducted themselves with the utmost integrity and professionalism, resulting in yet another year of historic crime reductions not seen in nearly half-a-century,” Baca said of his LASD colleagues.
Baca’s retirement left local officials shocked and surprised. Many believed that Baca was locked-in to run for re-election this year.
According to LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Baca called county officials Monday night to inform them about his decision.
“I think it’s fair to say that everyone is caught off guard by this. All indications had been that he was gearing up full force to seek re-election. Then we learned last evening of his intention to not seek re-election,” Ridley-Thomas said in a Los Angeles Times report.
Earlier on Monday, Baca met with his political consultant, Parke Skelton, to discuss his retirement. Skelton said that Baca had been mulling over his future and thought that a highly divisive re-election campaign would not be beneficial for the sheriff’s department nor for himself.
Even Skelton was surprised by the development because he was also under the impression that Baca was committed to run again for re-election.
“It was clear that he had thought long and hard about it,” Skelton told the Times, “I didn’t feel that it was up to me to persuade him otherwise.”
Skelton pointed out that Baca “has never been enthusiastic about politics as a blood sport.”
“Win or lose the campaign, it was going to be an experience that he didn’t want to go through or put the department through,” Skelton added.
Controversies and issues
Baca’s retirement comes at a time when his department is reeling from issues and controversies, which have undermined the sheriff’s vision of “strengthening transparency and accountability, constitutional policing, procedural justice, and civil and human rights as a whole.”
In his statement, Baca said that during his 15-year tenure, he held fast to the department’s core values of “respect for the dignity of all people, integrity to do right and fight wrongs, wisdom to apply common sense and fairness, and courage to stand against racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and bigotry in all its forms.”
Last month, 18 current and former sheriff’s deputies were slapped with criminal charges connected to allegations of violence against jail inmates and visitors, obstructing the Federal Bureau of Intelligence, and other crimes.
In 2013, the US Department of Justice accused deputies of widespread unlawful conduct, including warrantless searches, illegal detentions and use of unreasonable force during a period of time when Antelope Valley authorities conducted a supposed systemic discriminatory crackdown against low-income African Americans.
County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who has been very vocal of her criticism of Baca, said that the sheriff “trusted people a little more than he should.”
“I think there was a second tier of management that had tremendous problems,” Molina was quoted as saying in a Times report.
Praise and anticipation
LA police chief Charlie Beck praised Baca’s decision to step back from another re-election campaign, saying that people in leadership positions in law enforcement have to realize that the best interest of the organization must come before one’s own self-interest.
“[Sheriff Baca] believed that all the fury and fire surrounding him had caused his department to be impeded from doing its job. And that’s why he stepped aside,” Beck said to reporters.
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said Baca made “the right move for himself and for his department.”
Both Beck and Garcetti hoped that the next county sheriff would be “a strong partner to the LAPD” in reducing crime levels and strengthening regional security.
So far, potential candidates being considered to replace Baca include assistant sheriffs Todd Rogers and Jim Hellmold, as well as Long Beach police chief Jim McDonnell.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend January 11-14, 2014 Sec A pg.1)
