LA County Sheriff Pushes Back On Judge's Ruling On Deputy Rehiring, Criticizes Supervisors
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Sheriff Alex Villanueva pushed back Wednesday on a judge's ruling that said Caren Mandoyan — the deputy who was fired after being accused of stalking and domestic violence only to be rehired by Villanueva — turn over his badge and gun and stop referring to himself as a deputy for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Villanueva also criticized the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, which has sued the sheriff's department to block the rehiring stating that the sheriff was "endangering public trust."
And though this dispute centers on one deputy accused of misconduct, both sides maintained that there are larger issues at hand. Villanueva said that this is ultimately a labor issue — one about people being unjustly or unnecessarily fired.
"The facts are this is case is about five people — five powerful LA County supervisors who are suing the sheriff because they insist the sheriff cannot hire or fire employees even though I was elected by the voters to run this department," Villanueva said.
The sheriff argued that Mandoyan, who once volunteered on his political campaign, should not have been fired in the first place and that the previous sheriff wrongfully terminated too many employees.
The board maintained that this is an issue of the sheriff's department following the rules.
"The sheriff keeps insisting he simply wants to 'do the job he was elected to do.' Upholding the law is paramount to that job, and that does not include keeping a violent ex-employee on the beat," Supervisor Sheila Kuel said in a statement.
Mandoyan was originally fired after his then-girlfriend, who was also a deputy, accused him of stalking and domestic violence. A video released earlier this year appeared to show Mandoyan attempting to break into that former girlfriend's home.
Former longtime member of the Board of the Supervisors, Zev Yaroslavsky, said while it's not uncommon for there to be disagreements, a dispute of this kind is different.
"This is not about some policy decision," he said. "This is not about whether you should put more police on the streets in Valinda or more in you know Willowbrook. This is about whether the sheriff's department is going to hire and reinstate deputies who violated their oaths of office."
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Yaroslavsky, who has been critical of the sheriff, said rehiring fired employees could expose the department to lawsuits.
"If you're a taxpayer and a voter in Los Angeles County, what the sheriff is doing is exposing your pocketbook to huge lawsuits and huge liabilities that the taxpayer is going to have to pay for," he said.
But Villanueva said it's actually the board who is putting a financial strain on taxpayers by taking the matter to court.
"Is it appropriate for five supervisors to use taxpayer dollars to sue themselves by suing another county department," he said. "And especially since they've already had on payroll about 300 lawyers funded by taxpayer dollars to handle these labor disagreements in the first place."
The case has yet to go to trial, but the judge has already suggested he believes the county will ultimately prevail. Villanueva has said he looks forward to presenting evidence in court to support his claim.
