The reinstatement of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy by Sheriff Alex Villanueva who was accused of domestic violence and stalking is very disturbing and sends the wrong message to women, survivors and the community.

Sheriff Villanueva’s decision to reinstate Caren Carl Mandoyan says that bad personal behavior will be rewarded and condoned if you worked on the sheriff’s political campaign.  It also sends a conflicting message to the community about the Sheriff’s plans to “clean house” and rid the department of bad apples. To make matters worse, we are even more disappointed that Sheriff Villanueva would assign Deputy Mandoyan to South Los Angeles where women he is likely to come into contact with are disproportionately affected by domestic violence and intimate partner violence.

Several studies have found that the romantic partners of police officers suffer domestic abuse at rates significantly higher than the general population. It is especially problematic when domestic abusers are literally the people that battered and abused women in our communities are supposed to call for help.

The one profession where people who have been accused of domestic violence should never be employed is the profession where you are literally trained on how to stalk people without them knowing and given lethal weapons.

Sheriff Villanueva should believe survivors of domestic abuse and not reward their abusers.