All 14 LA County branches of the NAACP give Sheriff Alex Villanueva a failing grade
All 14 branches of the NAACP in Los Angeles County have given Sheriff Alex Villanueva a failing grade.
"We have had to offer a Grade of 'F' for failure for Sheriff Alex Villanueva for lack in executive leadership and lack of intervention to mitigate an atmosphere of fear in the Black Community and other communities marginalized by the LASD," NAACP officials said in a statement.
The branches said the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has failed to address many issues affecting Black communities under its jurisdiction.
"There are many things that are happening and the sheriff has not been responsive to us," said NAACP Los Angeles President Latricia Mitchell.
The NAACP claims that the sheriff, who is running for re-election, has failed to address the gang violence affecting many African Americans and has failed to support Black residents trying to file incident reports. The organization also claims that the LASD has shown a "lack of support or indifference" when Black residents report troubling behavior from deputies.
Villanueva's campaign responded to the criticism through a statement calling the report "baseless" and "misleading."
"Sheriff Villanueva's documented history of leadership is transparency, accountability, and inclusion speaks for itself," the campaign's statement said. "The sheriff is disappointed the leadership of the NAACP has chosen to sullen the rich history of their organization with baseless and misleading attacks the week before the General Election."
Additionally, Villanueva's campaign said the organization ignored the sheriff's challenger retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna's "long history of animosity towards African Americans."
In addition to his apparent failure to address the racial tension between law enforcement and Black residents, the NAACP's report criticized Villanueva for the department's lack of cooperation with other government officials in the county and numerous cities within L.A. County.
