By Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray
Just over two years ago, I had the privilege of serving as the Vice Chair of the Citizens’ Commission on Jail Violence (CCJV). This blue ribbon panel was appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to investigate allegations of systemic abuse within the L.A. County Jail system and to recommend reforms aimed at remedying any problems we identified.
We didn’t enter into this process with any preconceived notions of what we would learn. Yet what we did hear over our nearly one year process was deeply troubling — hours of testimony that spoke to a pattern of excessive use of force that had spanned decades, a troubling culture among some that exacerbated mistreatment of inmates, lax supervision and oversight within the L.A. Sheriff’s Department (LASD) as a whole, and repeated failures to hold wrongdoers accountable.
In one instance, a former Sheriff’s Department commander recounted an incident suggesting deputies “earned their ink” (or were tattooed into a deputy jail “clique”) by beating inmates; in another incident we heard about a jail Captain who “saw nothing wrong” with an inmate prone face down on the ground being subjected to a deputy doing knee drops on his back. Members of the LASD, clergy, and jail monitors consistently described a jail system that was not operating under the high standards of decency or constitutional policing that we all have a right to expect and demand.
During those hours of testimony, time and time again we were pointed back to the integral role of then-Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, who we heard had little interest in curtailing years of abuse, failed to hold deputies accountable, encouraged LASD personnel to “work in the grey” — on the border of right and wrong — and undercut managers who tried to reign in abuses. Indeed, our report concluded that “the troubling role of [then]-Undersheriff Tanaka cannot be ignored.”
Now, Mr. Tanaka is running for Sheriff and asking the public to ignore or forget the leadership role he had in overseeing the violence and corruption that the Commission uncovered and for which he was eventually forced out of LASD.
While I am not ordinarily vocal in political races, the race for the next Sheriff is too important for me sit on the sidelines. This election is about the future of the LASD and how we treat the men and women of our community and in custody.
All we have to do is look at the past to know that Mr. Tanaka does not represent our vision for the future.
The report issued by the CCJV concluded in no uncertain terms that “Undersheriff Tanaka promoted a culture that tolerated the excessive use of force in the jails.” Our report described in detail how Tanaka “discouraged supervisors from investigating deputy misconduct,” “vetoed efforts” to address the problem of deputy cliques and “encouraged and permitted deputies to circumvent the chain of command.” The report also recounted a system of patronage within LASD that Tanaka created: “many department members believe promotions and assignments are based on loyalty to the Undersheriff” (Tanaka) and “campaign contributions accepted by Tanaka furthered the perception of patronage.” This demonstrably poor judgment and misdirected leadership has continued beyond his tenure at LASD; in his race for Sheriff, Tanaka has accepted a large number of campaign donations from current and former employees of the Sheriff’s Department, including individuals who have been convicted, indicted, or investigated for civil rights and corruption-related crimes.
All in all, Mr. Tanaka’s “leadership” has resulted in the indictment of over 20 former LASD members, federal convictions and prison sentences of seven of those individuals, and legal costs to the County based on civil lawsuits likely to exceed 200 million dollars. And Mr. Tanaka himself remains the subject of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
We deserve better. And we can elect better on November 4th. We need only look to the events in Ferguson, Mo. to understand the difference law enforcement leadership – and the need to maintain community trust – makes.
I came to know Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell when he served beside me on the CCJV and I know him to be a man of integrity, high moral values and intelligence. He is a good man. And he is the right man for Sheriff. He is the only candidate who can move us forward at this critical point in time.
I urge voters to understand the choice we have before us and the character of the candidates in this race. The difference could not be clearer. Getting this right is too important not simply to the Sheriff’s Department, but to our entire community.
