Where We’ve Come

For over two years the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence in L.A. Jails has been fighting for an independent civilian review board of the sheriff’s department. When the C2ESV first began no one believed in the concept but we continued to build and fight to ensure sheriff accountability was ultimately put in the hands of the community. The result has been a county wide movement to ensure that the community is legally empowered with the tools necessary to prevent sheriff abuse, demand transparency, and enact accountability by sheriff personnel that harm our loved ones inside the county jail. On December 9th of 2014, the county Board of Supervisors voted to implement a civilian oversight commission! This victory is huge and now we need to work hard to protect our vision of a civilian commission that hold the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department accountable!

Where We Are Now

The December 9th vote created a working group that is responsible for establishing the powers, responsibilities, and composition of the oversight commission. Over the next month this working group will meet to draft a proposal for the county Board of Supervisors to approve. We need your help! There are 7 members of the commission and we need to let them know that the community wants a board with the legal backing to hold the largest sheriff’s department in the county accountable. We have five non-negotioable demands:

• Subpoena power
• Composed of 9 members, 4 community appointed
• Independent legal counsel
• No law enforcement or retired law enforcement
• Direct the functions of the Inspector General

How You Can Help

We need you to call the working group members and let them know that you believe effective civilian oversight must include the five characteristics laid out above. The functions, powers, and composition of the commission cannot be shaped without the input of the community that has been fighting for effective oversight for over the last two years. Contact the working group members below:

1) DEAN HANSELL, former Federal Trade Commission prosecutor (310) 785-4665
2) NEAL TYLER, current LASD chief (323) 526-5122
3) HERNAN VERA, public interest lawyer (526) 882-6286
4) MAX HUNTSMAN, Inspector General (213) 974-6100
5) LES ROBBINS, 30-year LASD deputy veteran (323) 213-4005
6) VINCENT HARRIS, Senior Advisor to Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas (213) 974-2222
7) BRENT BRAUN, former FBI agent and campaigned for Sheriff McDonnell (310) 871-6431

For more on civilian review boards please see our FAQ here.